A Log Pose to Nami
by Alastair
Summary: When Nami is kidnapped, the only one who knows is Luffy, and he must risk the Grand Line alone, barefoot, and in a log. The only things guiding him are a ship on the horizon, and the will to see her again. LxN COMPLETE
1. A Log Pose to Nami

**A Log Pose to Nami**

Leaning into the pull of the water, Luffy let the rowboat drift, his hands clasping near the top of his oar. The heavy jungle around him was not constricting, but he couldn't see even three feet into it – so deep, and thick, and green that everything was.

The rest of his crew was either dozing along with him in other boats or steadily rowing down the river even though there was no need. It seemed like everyone was about to wind down and rest in the darkness.

His feet were tired he realized, and his arms were like lead, since dragging the oar through the river was a bit of a chore. Nami was sleeping on the long bench in front of him, slightly curled up to be comfortable. Though it was night already, the jungle had trapped the heat of the day inside, and so she slept with no blanket over her, still wearing a dirty pair of shorts and a tank top with wide horizontal stripes.

He laid the oar across his lap, and settled against the back of the boat, smiling tiredly at the bits of sky that he could see through the canopy, his hat falling off to hang from his neck by its string. Grinning slightly, he took it off, and set it onto Nami's head before he lied back down again. Kicking off his sandals so they could rest beside Nami's – which had fallen off her feet in her slumber – he closed his eyes to let the boat travel on its own down the river.

It had taken several days to get to where they were on that river of the uninhabited island, and he figured that the river wouldn't mind if it gave them a ride while he took a nice … little … nap …

!#$&()+

Luffy gave a huge yawn, grinning up at the bright sky above him, and then sat up quickly to look around.

The oar was still across his lap, and his sandals were still next to Nami's on the floor of the rowboat, but Nami herself was gone. His brow furrowed, confused as he glanced about only to realize that the boat had gone aground, and that the others' rowboats were gone. As he got out so that he could tie the ship to the shore, he noticed that this had already been done, and he frowned.

"Nami's sandals are still here, but Nami's gone. So …" he scratched his cheek with a finger, and then searched for his hat lying across his back before he remembered that his navigator still had it. "… She took a barefoot walk! Sounds like fun!"

With a wide grin, he left his own sandals in the rowboat, and – unconcerned that his other crewmates had not seen their boat become separated – he walked into the jungle, shouting his navigator's name.

He had been walking for a good ten minutes before he stopped, and scratched his cheek again, almost pouting as he tried to look through the gaps in the jungle, "Nami? Oi? … Come on, this isn't funny anymore. You got my hat! Where'd you go?" Seeing something glint brightly, he smiled, and headed over. Was it gold or maybe silver? Perhaps, he could surprise Nami with it when he saw her next!

Luffy felt something in him become rigid when he realized a few seconds later that it was a short curved-sword embedded deeply into a tree trunk. Blinking slowly as he digested this, his eyes trailed to the note at the end of it. Crouching down so he could see it better, he read aloud:

_I'm borrowing your navigator._

_- Captain Vincent of the Squishy Pirates_

Making a face, he said as he stuck out his tongue, "Squishy? … Navigator!?" Grabbing the note, he stuffed it into a pocket, and took off into the jungle at a dead-run. "Nami! Nami! Oi, oi! Squishy guys! Give back Nami!"

!#$&()+

Luffy scratched his chin, and frowned at the sight of the ship sailing away in the distance.

He had no way and no time to find the others so that they could follow the Squishy Pirates, but then, he had no way to _follow_ the pirates unless he found his crew! The ship was too far away for him to reach even if he stretched, and it had already been proven countless times that he was definitely no swimmer.

Yet, he knew that once that ship was out of sight, Nami would be gone with it, and Luffy and the remainder of his crew would be stuck on the island until someone else came by – if anyone ever came by. Even that didn't ensure that they would be able to track down Nami and her kidnappers though.

There was no log pose he knew of that would lead to a person, and even if there was one, he didn't have one that led to her.

Clenching his fist, he punched a tree, groaning in frustration before he blinked, and looked up at the tree when it cracked easily. It had also made a hollow sound, and his eyes trailed higher up before he noticed that the tree's branches were bare of leaves; it was probably dead, and thus brittle.

Suddenly smiling, he pulled back his fists, and shouted, "Gum Gum Gatling Gun!"

With the extra force added onto that first powerful punch, it was with ease that Luffy toppled the tree to the shore. Glancing up at the horizon, he gritted his teeth when he saw that the ship was much smaller than before, and, bracing his knees, he pushed the tree over to find the weaker side, and smashed his fist through to make a place for him to sit. Once he made a big enough 'seat' he broke one of the branches off, and put it through one of his belt loops to keep it while he picked up the log.

Heaving it up, he aimed toward the shrinking ship, and threw it hard, one arm stretching as he held on like that. Taking a running jump after the log, he zipped through the air along with it, gripping the log tight as he laughed, the wind whipping and bucking through his hair and clothes. He reached the log before it landed, and he clung to it as it crashed into the ocean. His eyes grew wide when the log decided to spin in the water after landing, and he clung to it desperately, hoping that he would not lose his strength with those brief dunks into the sea. Luffy panted hard when the log decided to stop twirling in the water, and he groaned weakly as he settled into the seat he had made. It had collected some water at the bottom, but he didn't worry too much as he pulled the branch out of his belt loop, and started to steer the log toward the slightly closer ship.

!#$&()+

"So hungry …" Luffy groaned, his arms feeling willowy, but he held to his oar like a lifeline, still paddling desperately after the ship. He glanced at the sky, and figured that it had been about a few hours since he'd started after the squishy guys. "If I'm this tired … and this _hungry_ after just a few hours …!"

Shaking his head hard, he shoved the log forward furiously, trying not to think about his stomach, or the strain in his arms, shoulders, and back. Everything hurt really, but it was beyond him to let that stop him from helping Nami. He gritted his teeth to keep his tongue from hanging out in tiredness and thirst, swallowing dryly as he worked through the water.

The pirate ship was no closer, he was able to see it, and it hadn't shrunk much, but he wondered when he would catch up. They had the wind to their aid, and the best navigator in the world guiding them, but all he had was his quickly diminishing strength, a branch, and a rather bulky log. Luffy could remember moving really fast when he had used that screwdriver trick in the Davy Back doughnut race, but he had been affected by the seawater when he'd done that. He began to huff as he worked at the branch, trying to at least keep the ship in sight.

Realizing that the air was starting to chill, he glanced at the sinking sun, and wondered how long he'd really been out at sea. Had it really only been a few hours as he had thought? Luffy turned his eyes back to the ship, and reasoned that it didn't matter how long he had been rowing. He would follow Nami across the entire Grand Line to get her back.

"Nami is _my_ navigator," he said, beginning to paddle faster, his breath puffing so hard that it looked like steam. "And Sanji is going to cook me a _whale_ when I get back!"

Five minutes later, he was aching all over again though, and he took a deep breath only to let it trail out slowly. Blinking when some snowflakes fluttered in front of his face, he shivered slightly, taking another breath only to stare as his breath made the snowflakes dance away.

He grinned, and turned around.

Keeping a hold onto the log, he sucked in air, expanding into a balloon before he ducked his head down close to the water, and released all of that air. Luffy and the log surged forward from the force expelled out of his lungs. Often looking over his shoulder so that he would still be directed toward the ship, he used the branch to correct his trajectory whenever he saw that he was going off course. When he noticed that this was making him run out of breath, he decided to switch between paddling, and blowing.

The next island, thankfully, seemed to be much closer than he had thought it would be. His only problem was that it appeared to be a winter island, and he was freezing. Luffy attempted not to watch his breath – misty from the cold – as it formed in front of him, and he kept his fingers and bare toes moving.

After the water in his seat began to chill, he took some short breaks to cup the water in his hands and toss out the side, trembling uncontrollably as he did.

Luffy remembered Drum Island, and climbing the mountain with Nami strapped to his back, and Sanji dangling from his mouth.

"Th-this is nothing …" he said, and tried to believe it as his body was racked with quakes. "This is nothing, Nami. I'm coming for you."

!#$&()+

_I wanted to write something with Luffy/Nami, and finally figured out a plot around which I could work._

!#$&()+


	2. Tempest on the Grand Line!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_Tempest on the Grand Line!_

_Where's my Navigator!?_

Luffy moaned tiredly, blinking sleepily at the ship that was gradually becoming smaller. He stretched an aching hand, didn't dare to look at the blisters, and then dragged the branch into the water frantically again. When his stomach growled, he winced, but did his best to ignore it, thinking about all of the delicious food that Sanji would serve him when he returned. After saving Nami, it was the very least the cook could do for him! The food would fill the kitchen, top over the ship, and Luffy would devour every little bit while Nami would be right beside him the whole time.

"Carp," he said, rowing to every syllable from his mouth, "tuna, chicken, steak … _meat_ … meat …" Shaking his head hard when he distracted himself, he set back to steering after the ship.

He could still picture Nami in his head though, sitting beside him while he ate, and laughing. She'd be holding a mandarin orange in one hand, and his mouth watered at the thought as he'd always wanted, dreamed, and yearned to take one.

Nami had always caught onto his plots however, and so he'd slowly stopped coming after the delicious treats. With Sanji, he actually had a chance at raiding the fridge, and sneaking away some bits of food while his head was turned. His navigator was some kind of devil woman however, and he laughed at himself for wanting her back. She was the best navigator in the world though, and he would not settle for anything less. Nami was his navigator.

Touching his neck with one hand, he swallowed nothing, cringing as his throat felt dry. His stomach growled, and his throat constricted as he kept rowing. Luffy winced as his arms began to burn – lactic acid steadily building up in already sore muscles – however he kept at his constant speed, trying not to even blink as he watched the ship, not daring to let it out of his sight.

Luffy shivered when it stared to snow again.

A flash of lightning caused him to jerk in surprise, and he glanced at the sky while the resulting thunder reverberated through his bones. No longer amused with the weather, the sea, or this turn of events, he set his mind onto his task and the self-assumed reward from the cook after he brought Nami back.

The waves began to rock more, chopping against him in his log as he worked through them. He saw more flashes of light in the corners of his eyes, and heard the thunder, but he really only saw the ship, and Nami's smile, and he truly only heard meat sizzling on the grill as Sanji cooked for him. A larger wave rolled close to him, crashing into the sea somewhere in front of him. It had reached only to his shoulders, but he knew it would be more than enough to topple him in his log.

From what he recalled of previous storms, the next wave would be bigger too. He paddled faster, not only striving to keep the ship in sight, but also to avoid the bigger waves, starting to pray that Nami was aboard the ship, and telling the squishy captain that this was a small storm.

"_This is nothing,"_ he could hear her say. _"You should have seen the tempest yesterday!"_

"I remember, Nami," Luffy said, "I bet Franky's still repairing it right now. The waves were three stories tall, and I almost fell over a hundred times. Do you remember that part? Zolo counted."

His eyes suddenly widened, and his jaw dropped, gaping up at wave coming for him. This was not much of a wave – against the Thousand Sunny, it would have made a gentle rocking – but he was a rubber anchor in a log, and he would not chance this. Swirls in the waves caught his attention.

Purely intuitional, he stuck the branch in a small whirl, making his log spin out of the majority of the wave's course, but then he heard something snap and break. Luffy was still struck hard by a part of the wave, and he ended up spitting out saltwater from bloated cheeks. Making a face at the taste, he began to row again before he stopped to stare.

His branch had been what had broken in the whirlpool. Luffy tossed it aside, and bent down so he could paddle himself along with cupped hands, remembering watching other children learning to swim. While the others had slapped around in the water, Luffy had watched from the dock, smiling sometimes with them, and dipping toes into the waves, but he had little else to do with the children of his village. Yet he had watched, and he recalled them flailing and paddling like dogs in the water, so he copied the motion, surging through the cracking waves.

As the waters seemed to rise, he found it harder and harder to find the ship while dodging waves. He wondered if Nami was still telling the squishy captain that everything would be fine.

"_Are you worried about a little snow and thunder? My captain laughs during storms!"_ Luffy didn't really feel like laughing just then.

He'd lost sight of the ship.

Desperately searching all of the horizons, he abruptly felt the log tilt, and he plunged into the brine. Just as soon as the log turned though, it flipped right back up, and he gasped for air, clinging to the sides of the log. The log continued to spin however, and he tilted against the way the log was turning, the action making the log more bearable to ride.

Panting, he tried paddling again, leaning right or left when the log threatened to drown him. Luffy – cold and wet – shook his head hard, almost glad that Nami had his hat as he might have lost it in the storm. His hair stuck to his cheeks and forehead, and salt from the ocean made it itchy, but he disregarded to scratch. He had no time to make himself comfortable – just afloat.

He found himself turning in circles through the waves, feeling something gnaw at him as he searched to no avail. "Nami?" He gasped out, practically digging through the water while he tried to see over growing waves. "Nami!"

Keeping one hand on the log to grasp a hold of it, Luffy feverously labored, squinting through the mixed snow and rain. Thunder impaired his hearing, and his vision blurred from the endless gray and irregular golden lightning that danced across the sky to blind him temporarily. His arm started to drag through the water like lead, affected by the might of the ocean, so he switched arms.

Just as suddenly as the storm had washed through though, he felt the sun on his back, and he blinked at a bobbing ship that was a bit closer than he had remembered it being. Instead of some indistinct blob, he could see the beginnings of sails, and, if he strained his eyes, a flag.

"Nami," he said, and with his strength renewed, he began paddling again.

!#$&()+

His feet stung as he stepped onto the dock, glancing at one of the dockworkers in confusion when he gaped at him. Luffy looked down at his feet, grimacing when he saw that he was bleeding onto the snow from splinters. Inspecting the sole pirate ship, he then pointed at the dockworker.

"Oi, do you know if the squishy captain's onboard?"

"Huh? Squishy?" The man scratched his head, seeming to wince as he looked at Luffy's feet, and then said, "Captain Vincent went to the bar with his crew, I think. He's celebrating about some kind of treasure they'd gotten."

Luffy looked up at the ship as he said, "How long does it take for a Log Pose to set here?"

"Uh … I'd say about two or three days."

"Great! Thanks!" Pulling his arm back, he shot it out to grab the railing of the squishy ship, so he could jump aboard, already used to the sound of jaws hitting the ground from his feats.

_Now, I have to find Nami and get off before those days are up. Our Log Pose should still lead us back to the others then,_ he thought as he ducked into the cabin area of the outwardly empty ship. Turning around corners, and knocking doors clean off their hinges, he went through the ship door by door as he shouted her name, hoping to hear a response from her.

When no one came to shout at him, he scratched his head in confusion, having always expected some type of welcoming – though none had been that welcoming in the first place. He knocked down the next door, and then gaped at the gold glinting in the room.

"Wah … wahoo! Nami would love this!" He zipped in to start making a pile, grinning at the crowns and jewelry. Spotting a pack, he piled as much as he could inside, and threw the pack over his shoulder to keep a hold of it, snickering as he started his search again.

"Nami! Nami! Na – whoa!" The ship had started to rock, and he leaned against the wall until it settled, and he blinked when he heard men shouting above. Grinning, he righted himself, and ran down the hallway to meet the crew. "Oi! Squishy guy!"

As he stepped back onto the deck, Luffy found himself looking into the eyes of a very large, round man – but he had to look down to see into his eyes. He blinked at the short, fat man before he burst out laughing, and pointing.

"Uurrrh … hey! Who do you think you're laughing at, brat!? I'm Captain Vincent of the Squishy Pirates" When Luffy sniggered louder, Captain Vincent poked at Luffy's stomach, gritting his teeth, and stomping one foot, "What're you doing on _my_ ship, bub?"

"Ah! Oh, yeah, I remember," Luffy said. "You stole my navigator. Give 'er back!"

"Give her back?" He began to laugh, tearing up, "Hahahaw! I already got rid of the annoying wench." Luffy twitched. "She's a part of Alvida's crew now."

Blinking, he thought back to the woman that claimed she was going to marry him, and then blanched, "What!? Alvida's here?" Shoving the man aside, Luffy jumped back onto the dock, ignoring the shock of cold to his feet, and took off down the road, "Oi, Nami!"

"Oi, kid!" Vincent looked over the railing, and pointed out at the horizon with a raised brow for Luffy, "Captain Alvida already set sail."

"Ah, thanks, squishy guy!" Turning around, Luffy headed back down to the dock, almost going for the log again, but he saw a sturdy looking dinghy with a sail alongside the squishy ship. He jumped right in, starting to lower it into the water, "See you later, squishy guy!"

"Ah, yeah, see you later, kid!" When Luffy touched down to the water with the dinghy, he looked up in surprise when Vincent appeared on the railing, "Hey, wait a minute! That's ours!"

"Hee, I'm borrowing your boat like you borrowed my navigator! We're even now!" Letting out the oars, he started to row, spotting a pink ship that wasn't going too fast – the build was wide and didn't seem to cut through the water at any great speeds.

"No way! No deal! I – I – I –! Waah!"

Grinning, Luffy watched the squishy captain topple over into the water before he directed his attention back to where he was going. Putting aside his new bag of gold, Luffy leaned into rowing, and sighed in relief as he used muscles that he had not been using when he'd been in the log like a canoe.

While the pink ship was closer than the squishy ship had been, it was still much too far for him to reach by stretching. His stomach growled again, making itself known, and he balked, glancing down at the pack of gold, and wondering why he hadn't gotten to the kitchen before the gold. He said as his stomach continued to rumble, "A whale. I'm going eat a whole whale! And Nami's going to eat with me, and she'll be wearing jewels!"

!#$&()+

_Wow, I wasn't actually expecting much of a response since it's my first One Piece fiction, but … I suppose my ego __**does**__ need some more boosting. XP So, everyone? Review to keep me interested._

**vn:** _Thank you! And of course, I'll keep it up! Just keep reviewing._

**dbzgtfan2004:** _Thanks so much!_

**Rakara:** _Thanks, and uh … right … now?_

**catho:** _Yes, the Squishy Pirates. Well, you don't have to wait any longer now!_

**Lucy:** _Thanks. I was kind of nervous tackling such a huge personality, but then I remembered that he really __**is**__ just this silly, straightforward guy._

!#$&()+


	3. Most Beautiful in the Four Seas!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_Most Beautiful in the Four Seas!_

_The Proposal of Queen Alvida!_

Shading his eyes, Luffy looked across the expanse of the sea, seeing the glint of some kind of pink ship, but the setting sun created a shimmering golden reflection across most of the water, making it hard to see. It took him a moment to realize that his stomach no longer hurt, but he was still hungry, and patted it absently as he rowed.

When the sun finally began to settle behind the horizon, he was able to increase to his original speed again – the sun and reflection of the water having worked against him in finding his way through the waves.

"_Luffy! Stop squirming. You'll make it worse."_

"_No, no, no, that stuff stings," he said, and yanked his arm away – or at least tried to as his arm only stretched, leaving his bleeding hand in her own hand. She grinned – devilishly seemed like the right word – and poured the salve on, causing him to yelp, his eyes tearing up. "Nami, you're so mean."_

"_It's for your own good," she said. "What am I supposed to do if you're gone?"_

_Sitting up – and getting his hand away from her – he frowned, "Don't you mean 'we?'"_

"_Of course, that's what I mean, you blockhead! What'll I do if you go and do something stupid like get an infection and die?"_

_In his head, he attempted to replace that 'I' with a 'we,' but knew she meant it in the first way. She was like that. "Chopper will fix me up."_

"_Not if you die!"_

_He laughed, and said, "Well, that's why I got you."_

_Her cheeks colored as her dark red-brown eyes widened, "What?"_

"_With how you act around me," he said, "you're the one that's going to kill me in the end!"_

_Pulling her fist back, Nami punched him in the face, "Idiot!"_

Jerking to attention, he took a deep breath, and looked around only to see that the ship had somehow gotten farther away, so he returned to leaning into the oars, cursing himself for almost falling asleep. His stomach constricted slightly, but it didn't growl, and his face became miserable. He didn't have Nami, he hadn't eaten in at least a day and a half, and he was getting so very exhausted.

If he didn't find some food and sleep soon, he felt like he would die.

_And then what would she do?_

A blister on his hand broke open, and Luffy hissed, glancing at it before he went back to the oars. On top of the whale he was going to eat, he'd make sure that Chopper tended to all the nicks and scrapes he got on his hands and bare feet, and he wouldn't use that stingy stuff – Luffy would make sure of it. He could already feel the cool wrap of the bandages, and smell the roasting meat. Nami would smile with a mandarin orange in hand, the hated salve in the other while wearing exquisite jewels, and she'd tell him he needed it for infections.

Luffy realized that he might have complied with the salve, regardless of the torture.

His eyes lit up when he saw that he was much closer to Alvida's ship than before, and with an abrupt grin, he flung a hand forward, grabbing the railing of the ship. He held onto his little boat with the bag of gold, letting him and the boat be catapulted toward the pink ship. Luffy laughed as gusts of wind whipped through his hair again, his eyes wide with delight as he soared through the air briefly right before he and the boat crashed onto the ship's deck. Blinking when the currently ruined boat settled, he inspected the deck, hoping the crash didn't wake up Alvida.

Nodding in satisfaction, he let the ruined boat and bag lie, and walked toward the cabin, hoping to find Nami inside so they could leave – on a new boat, naturally. The door opened before he even reached it though, and he found himself looking down the edge of a sword. He recoiled when he saw that Alvida was on the other end of that blade, and he edged away only to wince as he felt other swords press against his back.

"Straw Hat Luffy," she said, "in the middle of the night? I'm flattered. What's the reason for this delightful intrusion?"

"I want-"

"I know exactly what you want!" She pulled back her sword, but it was replaced with at least ten more from her crew, and Luffy was made to follow her. Getting an annoyed look on his face, he considered picking his nose, and flinging a booger into her hair. Just as he was about to dig in, his eyes widened as he was led into a large room stacked with food, drink, and, more importantly, meat.

"All right! Food!" He dodged through the swords to get to the table, and then started to chomp into a bird leg. "Uhmmm!"

Alvida stepped up behind him, flipping her hair, "You want to get through our wedding reception!"

Blinking, Luffy turned slowly to face her, his mouth full with his fourth leg of meat, "Muh?"

"Eat hearty for then we shall marry!"

Luffy spit out the food into her face as he screamed, "I'm not marrying you!"

She only smiled as her Sube Sube powers caused the food to miss her completely, and fall to the floor, "It would be fitting though. You as the Pirate King need the most beautiful woman of the seas as your wife. I would make the perfect Pirate Queen."

"Where's Nami?" He said, and he watched as Alvida's face twisted into confusion.

"You mean that horrible little navigator?" Her iron club came smashing down onto the floor planks, "Who is the most beautiful woman on the seas!?"

"It's you, Alvida-sama," said the crew, nearly crying with joy at the sight of her. "It's you!"

"You see, Luffy? I-" She stopped in shock, gaping when she saw that Luffy was climbing out the window, "Hey! I'm talking to you here!"

Pulling down his lower eyelid, he stuck his long tongue out at her, "Phooey, I'm not listening to you."

With this said, he stretched his arm up the side of the ship, and he grabbed the railing to sling himself onto the deck again, just barely missing being hit by several swords and daggers thrown at him. Starting to dash across the deck, he went back into the ship, running down the hall quickly while busting down doors in his search.

Finally, he smashed one door down, and poked his head in to see her, "Buggy!?"

"Flashy Surprise, Straw Hat!"

Nami jerked forward as if to go to him, but her restraints kept her.

Buggy was standing in front of her, while several of his crew was beside Nami to guard her, and as Luffy entered, all of Buggy's men turned their guns onto Nami. Freezing completely when he saw a gun barrel against Nami's hip, he swallowed shallowly, his fists clenching, but otherwise not moving.

"I got you where I want you now, Straw Hat. It's perfect. Once you're dead, I can turn you and the girl in for your bounties." He laughed, raising his face to the ceiling as he did, "I'll even lead the Marines straight to that little island with your log pose. It'd make for a nice, fat, flashy paycheck."

Luffy nearly growled in frustration, "Come on, Buggy. Fight me! Nami's got nothing to do with this."

Fuming, Buggy pointed back at her accusingly, "She's the one that tied up my body before you punched the rest of me away!"

He picked his nose, "Oh, yeah."

Pulling out several knives to hold between his fingers, he aimed them at Luffy, "It's payback time! Let's see what you can do _without_ her!"

Luffy rolled back away from the hands that flew at him, and he scampered down the hallway as Buggy and his hands gave chase. When he reached the deck, he realized that Alvida had finally come out to search for him, and she was standing at the helm of the ship with a smile on her face.

He could barely give her any attention, however as Buggy's hands caught up, and sliced his arm. Buggy's hands returned to his arms, and the clown laughed, "There's no one to help you this time."

"You can get out of it by marrying me," Alvida offered, and Luffy stuck out his tongue at them.

"Nyaah! Who'd want to marry you? I just want to get my navigator back. Gomu Gomu no," he said, and, pulling back his fist, Luffy shot it at Buggy's head, "Pistol!"

Buggy's head popped off to avoid the attack, and then he stabbed the outstretched arm, losing the knife as Luffy pulled it back with a cry. Hissing, he yanked out the dagger, and tossed it aside, watching Buggy reattach his head.

His stomach suddenly grumbled, and he winced. Seeing that Buggy had noticed the opening, he dodged to the right as the other captain's hand shot at him. As he did so however, he realized his err. Buggy's other hand had shot right in front of his jump, and Luffy tumbled into it, stiffening in pain, and screaming as two of the knives slid into his torso.

He pushed himself to his hands and knees, and grabbed Buggy's hand only to be kicked back down, his side landing hard against the embedded knives.

"You see, Straw Hat? You're nothing without someone to help you."

"That's why I need to get Nami back," he said with some effort.

Crowing with laughter, Buggy pulled the knives out of his stomach, attaching his hand to his arm once more, and he kicked Luffy's wound, "Who ever said you'd see your navigator again? Who said that we'd let you?"

Luffy covered his wound as best he could with his hand, glaring at Buggy, "I did. _I'm_ saying I'll get her back."

"You?" Buggy kicked harder, making Luffy roll onto his back with a loud groan, and he stepped onto the hand pressed to the wound. He said, "Do you know what you look like to me, Straw Hat? You're just a little boy, playing at being a pirate. You and your little crew are a waste of space. I'd hardly let someone like you lick my boots, but you think you're going to somehow win against a real pirate, and get your girlfriend back?" Pressing down on the wound, Buggy's eyes twinkled when Luffy gasped, "That's funny."

His teeth ground together, his eyes narrowed as he watched the man standing above him, and said, "Like your big red nose."

Eyes suddenly wide with rage, he raised his foot, about to stomp on his gash yet again, "What'd you say about my nose!?"

Acting fast, Luffy coiled his arms around the other, and took a hold of Buggy's leg before letting his arms unwind by themselves. Unprepared for the spinning, Buggy cried out while Luffy hauled him into the air, slamming the rotating man onto the deck with a loud crash.

Standing tall, he inhaled deeply, ignoring the grinding ache of his side.

He was hungry, he was tired, and there was no way that combined effort against his system would permit him to enter Gear Second. If he increased his blood flow, all he would do was use up precious energy since he didn't have any stores of food or energy from which to draw. Moreover, he was bleeding heavily, and raising his blood flow would result in him fainting from hemorrhage.

With an opponent like Buggy, who could pull himself apart without any preamble, it was a waste of energy to concentrate on hitting parts of a man that could fall off to avoid being hit. _I'll just have to hit him all at once,_ he thought.

Lifting his thumb to his mouth, he bit into his thumb firmly, nicking the bone, and blew hard into his thumb. As his hand expanded into a huge fist – nearly half the length of the ship – he grinned at Buggy's astonished face, pulling his fist back for another go, wanting to end it.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" His fist slammed into the shocked clown captain, crushing him into the deck. Not daring to wait for any retaliation, Luffy transported the air through his chest and down to his foot to enlarge it before swinging it around in a loop for Buggy again, "Gomu Gomu no Whip!"

Smiling at the sight of Buggy soaring into the distance, Luffy let out the air from his foot, shrinking down to a child-like size before he turned to the cabin again. He had an inkling feeling that he had just forgotten something, and he remembered what when an iron club slammed into him, sending him headfirst into a barrel. His body then took that instance to return to its normal size.

Trying to pull back, Luffy struggled weakly against the barrel as he tried to pull his head out; soon realizing that Alvida's hit had made his head stuck inside of the barrel. He heard her walking closer, and he began to pale, working furiously at pulling his head out.

"What an ugly ability," she said. "You're cute as you are now, but I will not tolerate such a transformation from _my_ husband! Be gone!"

Cringing when her club swatted across his backside, Luffy was sent into the ocean, him and the barrel diving into the water. Losing the strength to move, his head managed to stay inside of the empty barrel as it floated back to the surface. After a moment, he felt that the barrel had stopped rising, and some water seeped in through the break from his head, but it stopped coming in when the water level rose to a few centimeters. He bobbed there uselessly, unable to move, and with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Damn it!" With his arms and legs useless while his head remained in the dark barrel – just barely kept afloat – he screamed, "Nami!"

!#$&()+

_I've been thinking about it, and I've realized that if people review, I'll probably be able to upload a chapter every week. All I need is the support because without people to tell me that they enjoy my writing, I'll lag and take forever in uploading. This is kind of a test on how fast I can write and upload too, so help me pass by reviewing._

**Captain Bones:**_ XP I'm going to take a guess, and ponder aloud on whether you've read the most recent chapters of One Piece. Hee. Thanks!_

**Rakara: **_Ah ah ah! No assuming things about me. Thank you!_

**catho: **_As you should be! Thanks for the review!_

**Abigfoot37: **_Oi, oi, you got to be careful about what you say. I know all those spoilers, but I'm pretty sure there's a whole bunch that don't. In fact, my day was ruined when someone else spoiled those very things for me! …:P So be careful, ne? Thanks for the review!_

**Koinu: **_…! Yes, sir! I mean – yes, ma'am!_

**CSI Kaizoku:** _Ah, yeah, sorry to disappoint in that last chapter, but I was already planning a fight in this chapter, so I knew that someone wanting to see a fight wouldn't have to wait long anyway. I wasn't actually expecting anyone that wanted to read a fight though since I'm used to all the fan girls being fan girls – but then, this __**is**__ really a boy's manga. I'm glad for you now though since I thought I'd be preaching to bored ears or something._

**animelover150: **_An apt fear! (Please, ignore the fact that I didn't really answer you.)_

**overlord: **_You mean it wasn't excellent before!? Shame on me! I shall strive to keep this story in tip-top shape from now on!_

**FoxyRed:** _Damn straight, you can't wait. See? This chapter's out now, so you can't wait anymore._

**kabata4life: **_Nami's always happy to see gold. And yes, Alvida. She's one of my favorite villains._

**kage karasu:**_ Of course, Alvida! Who else would I force Luffy to run into but her!?_


	4. Dreams of a Floating Barrel!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_Dreams of a Floating Barrel!_

_I'm Coming For You, Nami!_

Luffy took to counting the waves as he bobbed up and down in the barrel. It had filled in a few more centimeters with seawater, and he could feel it as it came to lick at his chin, causing his brows to furrow in slight worry. If the water continued to rise as it was doing, he realized that he would die of suffocation before he starved to death. When his wound twanged, he then wondered if the water would fill the barrel before he bled dry.

He stuck out his tongue, not at all pleased with his thoughts, but there was little else for him to think on except that he couldn't move, his head was stuck in a barrel, and Nami was somewhere out on that big, wide ocean with Alvida and Buggy. It's not that he sobered at the notion, but he did become more still, closing his eyes to the darkness of the empty barrel. _I didn't even get to talk to her,_ he thought, about to clench a fist, but could do little more than twitch a finger since he was submerged to his neck. He wasn't even able to just break open the barrel as that would only make the barrel fill with seawater, and he would sink even more quickly.

With a sigh, he decided just to close his eyes to wait. He had never been patient before, but this new trial of his seemed to test more than just his physical limits. Perhaps, if he slept a while, he'd feel more energized when he woke up anyway, and he could think of something to do.

!#$&()+

"_Luffy!" Nami said, waving her hand over at him._

_He grinned, and stood to jog down the beach, letting seawater tease his feet, and feeling slightly dizzy from it, but the water was an almost nice feeling. Luffy had always felt slightly lightheaded around Nami anyway, so he wasn't concerned with the added vertigo. Taking her hand, he grinned wider as he touched her warmth._

"_Did you see me, Nami?"_

"_Yes," she said, "I saw you."_

_His smile took up his face, and he took his hat from her head to put it on his own, "Were you happy to see me?"_

_Laughing, Nami reached up to grind the straw hat onto his head more, and said, "Always!"_

_The woozy feeling swept through him again, and he sighed, leaning up against her, and setting his cheek to her shoulder. Luffy said slowly, "I missed you."_

_He felt her arms wrap around his torso, pressing him closer to her body, and he began to melt into her. She knelt down in the sand, taking him with her, and she propped his head in the crook of her shoulder. Combing her fingers through his hair, she said, "I know."_

"_Nami," he said, his eyes drifting shut, "I can't feel my legs."_

"_It's okay," she pulled him toward the water._

_Smiling, he attempted to embrace her, his fingers tugging weakly at her top as he strived for purchase. Luffy said, "I want to hold you …" The water rose then, beginning to engulf the two into the water, and he jerked away, "Nami? Let's get up. I can't swim."_

_Yet the water swelled, rising too quickly for him to counter against it, but he and Nami lingered, still on their knees in the sand as the water climbed up high. Past their heads and over the palm trees it escalated until the water around them grew muggy and dark. Luffy clasped at her hands, trying to see her through the gloom, but he could only manage to see her calm face with her eyes shut, and he strived to touch her cheek. After a moment, he realized that she was drowning, finally seeing bubbles escaped from her nose and mouth._

_She was a good swimmer, he knew, but the rise in water must have shocked her. He coiled his arms around her then, pulling her to his chest before he struggled to clamber upwards. Luffy surprised himself when he actually ascended enough to get up, but his feet were caught in the sand from the beach that used to be there. His lungs began to burn, and he clutched at his mouth as if to hold it shut._

Nami! Don't worry; I'll save you!_ He looked down at her peaceful face, rays of the sun reflecting through the water to make her appear a disturbing pale blue, and Nami looked as if she were already long gone. Eyes widening from that fear of death – of losing her forever – he started to press her up through the water, clutching at her waist as he pushed her up as high as he was able._ I want you to live!

!#$&()+

The barrel broke against the beach, and he gasped hard for air when the water spilled out of the barrel and freed him. After the initial inhalation, he coughed hard, vomiting seawater until he felt marginally well again, and he started to breathe deeply. Luffy collapsed onto the water he had thrown up on the beach, not particularly caring that there might have been actual stomach acid somewhere within, and just breathed.

When he had enough air, he crawled up the beach, groaning as his wounded bare feet and blistered hands scraped against the sand and sharp rocks that covered the expansive shore. Lying in the patch sand that he found on higher ground, he curled in on himself, shaking and casting blurred gazes around his vicinity. The beach seemed bare except for the jagged rocks, shells and gritty sand of a regular rocky beach. Squinting, he managed to sit up, holding the tender wound that seemed to have stopped bleeding as heavily, and he coughed again to dispel more misplaced water before he took in large gulps of air. His vision began to clear, and he pulled hair out of his face, discarding a piece of seaweed that he found.

The wind was cold, and as it blew, he shuddered against it, hugging himself against the chill. Luffy shuffled to his feet, wincing when some sand dug into a cut from his earlier ride in the splinter-filled log.

Gaining a gentle limp, he walked toward higher ground, no longer heeding the bitter wind or his exhaustion or his hunger or the state of his wrinkled body. As he stood atop the small cliff he had found, Luffy continued to search the horizon, praying to see a ship – any ship truly – but Alvida's ship most of all, for he knew that was Nami's current prison.

After the wind became too much to endure, he sank to his knees, huddled at the edge to keep from freezing, but he remained staring out into the sea.

While he watched for ships – after taking note that this island was tiny, and he could see clearly all around himself – he mulled over his dream. She had been so soft and magnificent, but he had never really thought about her as such, tending to keep a general distance from her as she appeared to enjoy smacking him upside the head. He mumbled into his knees, his face crouched in between them for warmth, and he attempted to recall her gentle frame against his, feeling as his form began to nod, and became drowsy just before he lost consciousness.

!#$&()+

"Oi, Luffy," someone slapped his face lightly, and he groaned, pulling his head away.

"Nami?"

Whoever it was grunted while making a confused sound, and then said, "Must be having a good dream, huh, Luffy?"

Finally blinking his eyes open, Luffy squinted at the man above him, "Ace?"

"The one and only, little brother. Are you okay?" Ace helped him sit up when Luffy attempted to do it on his own, and patted his back to soothe him. Silently taking note of his wrapped injury, he touched it gently, smelling a familiar salve that Chopper and Nami had forced onto him constantly in the past, and his lip twitched into a smile. His brother said, "You were asleep for a long time. You're lucky that I found you when I did."

"The ship," he said abruptly, "did you see it?"

With a chuckle, Ace shook his head, and shifted his fingers through Luffy's rubbery hair, "Just my own boat. Sorry."

"Nami's on it," he said – his throat, tongue and lips dried further, but he continued anyway. "Alvida and Buggy have Nami, and I have to find the ship, Ace. I got to get my navigator back."

Ace seemed to quiet, and he reached down for a jug that he passed to his brother, "Drink first. I can barely understand you." He took it back after Luffy tried to guzzle it down, "Not so fast, or you'll choke."

Unconcerned, and only relieved that his throat was not as parched, he said, "Nami is on Alvida's ship. I need my Nami back, Ace."

He grimaced, clutching at Luffy's shoulders, and he seemed to think quietly before he decided on saying, "Luffy, it's too late. This is the Grand Line. You can't follow someone across the Grand Line when you can't see them and don't know where they're headed. That's why it's taking me so long to find Blackbeard."

"No, I have to find her now. Before the Log Pose resets and we can't find our way back to my crew. Buggy said they were taking her to the Marines, and they're going to turn her in for her bounty."

Suddenly, Ace's mood lightened, and he said, "The Marines? There's a base in these parts, and I have a Log Pose that _should_ still be pointing at it. If you fell off their ship near here, then maybe that's where they're taking her."

Grabbing him, Luffy yanked him into a hug, "A base? That's great, thanks, Ace!"

"You should rest first though," he said, struggling to get the younger boy to sit and remain at rest. "Before you go after your girlfriend, just rest, and eat something to keep up your strength. I'll release you after that, and then you-"

"I can't stop! If I stop, then what will I do if the Log Pose resets while I'm here? If they take her away after she reaches the base, how will I ever find her again!?"

"Luffy …" then he stopped, and sat back with a soft smile, shaking his head. "Okay, you win. You just worry this big brother to no ends." When he looked back up, he gave the water jug to him to allow him to drink again while he put together a small pack, "At least take some water and food _with_ you to eat on the way. You look like shit, and that's no way to greet a girl after risking something as grand as the Grand Line."

He smiled in gratitude, putting the parcel over his back to hold it, and said, "Thanks, Ace, you'd make a great wife."

"What kind of thanks is that!?" Ace punched the top of his head, making his face smash into beach.

A few moments later, while he rifled through his bags for the before mentioned Log Pose, Luffy snorted sand out of his nose, frowning at Ace's back, and picturing his brother in a frilly pink apron in revenge. When Ace turned back around to hand over the Log Pose, he asked, "Do you have another Log Pose to use?"

"Yeah, an Eternal Pose. It might be pointing to where Blackbeard is now," Ace said. "Go ahead and keep that. I'll just get another one if this doesn't take me to Blackbeard."

Luffy put the Log Pose on carefully, not sure how fragile it really was. He said, standing up after he secured it to his wrist, "I'll see you later then."

"Of course."

He turned toward where the Log Pose was pointing, and then stopped, "… I need a boat now."

As he turned to look around the little island, Ace said, "I could give you a ride."

"No, you have your mission, and I've got mine," he said, and didn't even glance back. "Besides, we already said goodbye."

"I know. I just thought I might offer it anyway. Well then, I'm off. See you later, little brother," Ace formed fire, blasting off across the water in his boat, but Luffy didn't watch as he disappeared off into the ocean. He was already busy with dragging a sturdy looking log toward the beach.

Once he was in the water, he wrapped his legs tightly around the log. Securing himself by coiling his rubber legs around the log several times, he then tied his ankles to one another to keep steady. Since this log was not hollow, he didn't bother to try making a seat, so this was the only way he could think of to keep afloat. Luffy started to paddle with a board from the barrel that had almost drowned him.

He checked his Log Pose as often as he could, his mindset on Nami once more, but this time, he discovered that he didn't care if Sanji rewarded him with a whale or if Chopper treated his scrapes.

"Here I come, Nami," he said, his chapped lips holding a smile as the wind lashed as his unruly hair, daring him to oppose the immensity of the Grand Line.

!#$&()+

_I was almost expecting someone to bitch at me for asking for reviews, or telling me the story wasn't worth asking for reviews. Not that I think or even believe that's true (I'm egotistical like that) but because I know that people are assholes (i.e. like me). So I'm pleasantly surprised by all the praise, but slightly disconcerted that not one person was unhappy. I'd like to try to improve on __**something**__ for the next chapter after all, but for now, I'll just take it as a huge go-ahead to continue writing as I am._

_:P Because I must be doing something right._

**wheathermangohanssj4: **_Very true, though a Zolo/Nami pairing wouldn't surprise me. It's hilarious when Nami's blackmailing him. Yay! I'm always glad to hear that I'm getting their characterizations right. I actually worry about dealing with Nami's characterization the most. Luffy's easy so far … Thanks for reviewing!_

**clunstationsweet:**_ Of course! Just keep reviewing, and I'll love and nurture this story and all of you until its end!_

**sempai-sama:**_ Fuwahaha! Another Alvida fan! Thanks for the review! (Don't forget all the meat that poor boy's missing out on! Meat's a meal in on its own, you see.)_

**overlord:**_ Thank you so much!_

**catho:**_ Thrown around is right … XP He's even done it to himself to travel around! Thanks!_

**EagleRay:**_ Thanks, I try. I mean, I want the story to have some of that feel of One Piece after all._

**Koinu:**_ No more waiting for you! XP Thanks for reviewing!_

**iEclipse:**_ No, shut up! __**You're**__ awesome! … XP I mean, thanks for the review?_

_**P.S.**_

_I didn't expect to actually finish the chapter this soon, but just pretend it's because of your reviews, and review some more to see if I update even faster._

!#$&()+


	5. The Luck of a Name!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_The Luck of a Name!_

_A Man of D. Falls!_

Long after the sounds of the fight had died away, Nami kept expecting Luffy to come barging through the door, and claiming he was there to save her. It was silly, however – such a thought as that, as if he would come in with a beaming smile, charging into the room like he was her hero, and sweeping her off her feet.

When Alvida and Buggy finally entered, she asked, "Where's Luffy?"

"Oh, shove it," she said. "You're not getting out of here without a Marine escort. Forget about a rescue."

"They're coming for me," said Nami. "They can do anything."

Alvida laughed, "Enies Lobby was a whole big lie. I think it's a cover up for the revolutionaries breaking through somehow. No one could possibly have overtaken that place though, and even if you guys did, more than half your crew must be dead. I bet no one else will come for you at all since I booted your captain over the side of the ship."

Twitching, Nami averted her eyes from her, "Yeah, he'd do something stupid like that. I'm sure the others saved him though. You're in for a surprise later."

"Feh! What others?" Buggy said, "No one else but Straw Hat got on board. I saw him come flashily crashing onto the deck in some dingy. He was alone."

"What …?" _He came alone? How did he follow us by himself?_ She suddenly recalled his haggard appearance. His skin and lips had been sunburned and chalky, and Nami looked toward the floorboards near the door, realizing that he had tracked in blood, _Was he wearing his sandals?_

Alvida covered her mouth with a hand to laugh, "Oh, the look on your face! Don't worry. I'll be sure to put the treasure he brought with him to good use."

Her jaw dropped, _And he found some treasure for me!?_ She almost came to tears, "Don't touch my treasure! Luffy stole that, so it belongs to our crew!" _Mine! All mine!_

Chuckling, Buggy said, "It was almost worth losing his dead body overboard since we got the loot. 24-karat gold, exquisite pearls and fine jewelry from the West Blue – it doesn't add up anywhere close to his bounty though."

Pulling out a string of pearls, Alvida placed it around her neck, "What do you think? Does it suit me?"

Nami blinked at it slowly, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something, but she realized that nothing she said would ever come to explain the inexplicable pang in her chest or the reason why she wanted to break down and cry.

"_Oh, I love pearls," she said, eyeing the necklace she had placed around her throat. "What do you think, Luffy?"_

_When she turned to show him, his mouth was full of food he had picked up from who even knew where, and so he swallowed it quickly, "I thought you liked gold."_

"_But pearls look so good on me, don't you think?"_

_For a wonder, he actually nodded, and she flushed red with pleasure at the unsaid compliment, but then, he said, "You're going to steal that, aren't you?"_

_Nami made a face at him, "Of course. I already have a pocket-full, stupid. Now shut up or I'll get caught."_

Feeling her knees start to give out, she wondered if he had been thinking of her when he had taken the pearls, and if he had even remembered that conversation. Nami would have collapsed if it hadn't been for the restraints that held her securely to the wall of the ship. _What other kinds of treasure did he get for me? He … he __**must**__ have thought of me if he got those pearls._

The two pirates cackled together while Buggy said, "It's stunning, Alvida! Everything looks flashy on you!"

Alvida just smiled, and then waved to Nami a goodbye as they left her. Their task complete – telling Nami the bad news of her drowned captain, and the treasure he had stolen – they had nothing else to ruin her day with, and thus departed from her.

!#$&()+

She clung to the hat, keeping it firm against her head like when _he_ would put it on her. If she concentrated, she could smell him – the odd aroma of pork, beef and fish infusing her senses.

Nami wasn't sure if the smell reassured her, but it gave to her the impression that he was actually beside her, and _that_ comforted her.

Alvida and Buggy had traded her in for the sixteen million berries that she was worth, and then Nami had been forced into her current 'living space.' Looking up from her cot, she peered through the cell bars to the other women in the jail block. As piracy wasn't common among women, she only saw two others with her as this was the female block – kept separate from the men. One of them was staring right back at Nami, smiling.

"Aren't you the ship whore of the Straw Hat crew?"

Her eyes widened in offense, and she stood up, "I'm their navigator! I make sure that those boneheads don't get themselves lost or drowned" – she swallowed nothing at that thought, seeing Luffy sink down through the water – "or … or whatever else those morons are likely to do."

"Sorry, my mistake."

Blinking, Nami paused in her tirade, confused by the woman's calm attitude, and the immediate apology, "Huh?"

"It's Monkey _D_. Luffy, right?"

Sinking back onto the bed, she leveled her gaze with that of the other woman, "Yeah, that's him."

"D. is a dangerous name," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Just hope that you have _half_ the luck that man has." The smile was still there, and Nami swallowed nothing, staring at the odd grin and pondering over those words until the woman said, "He's sure a handsome one though, hmm?"

She blinked in puzzlement, not certain where the change in topic came from, but she said, "Luffy? Handsome? He's like a little kid."

"Is he now?"

Nami opened her mouth to answer, ready to shoot down that notion before she realized that she was still clutching tightly to his hat, and recalled when he had put it on her head before dealing with Arlong. His laughter chimed in her head as he carried her through Water 7, looping around and over buildings. She had looked up once, terrified and unsure, but his grin had chased it all away – all until they had landed, and she beat him for risking her as he had.

Taking the straw hat off, she inspected the weave, seeing some of the repair work that she had done in the past. Amending her previous statement, she said, "Most of the time."

She saw his smile, _"You fixed it, Nami! You're awesome!"_

"Do you miss the man of D.?"

"Yeah," she said without a second thought, and put the hat back on, mimicking how Luffy would have done it. "I do."

"So," the older woman said, "when is your crew coming to pick you up?"

Biting her lip, she said, "They're not. Luffy came alone, and he was thrown overboard. Even if he did survive somehow, I can't think of any way that he'd figure out how to get here."

"You lose faith in him too quickly," the woman said, and Nami looked up at her from under the brim of Luffy's hat. "Men of D. never give up."

"Unless he's dead," Nami said, and then her hands shook. Covering her face, she lowered her head, and started to bite her cheek, forcing back stricken tears, _You better not be dead, you stupid idiot …_ Hearing the woman laugh, she raised her face to glare venomously, "Stop it! Don't laugh at me!"

"Looks to me like you're in over your head with this one," she said softly. "Careful. Remember what I said about luck."

"Who cares about luck!?" She shot to her feet again, clutching at the hat, and bringing it to her chest, and wished it were his head that she was cradling, "He's injured, half-drowned at the worst, and that idiot couldn't feed himself to save his own life! He'd get lost at sea in minutes! Even if he did get out onto the ocean, whatever he's using would sink long before he got anywhere. He doesn't have anyone right now, and the only one that's close enough to really help him is me, and …" Nami finally started to weep "And I need _him_ more than he'll ever need me. That's sad, isn't it? Luffy's out there by himself with no one but his own foolhardy spirit and I need him. It's pathetic, right?"

"There's no shame in needing people. Monkey D. Luffy is no different. If he didn't need you, he would've sat on that shore, and watched you sail away to rot in that jail cell."

"That's what I'm doing though, and I don't have my Perfect Clima Tact either, so I'm more than useless. He doesn't need that."

Cackling, the woman said, "You'd be surprised about what a man really needs."

!#$&()+

It had rained, snowed, and even hailed all within one hour of each other while Luffy was going across the sea. So far, he had managed to stay upright for the entire duration, but he was already becoming tired once more. The rest that Ace had granted him was starting to wear away, and he wondered how long he had actually been sleeping before he had been revived. He was grateful that his wound had been treated too, but it continued to ache gently as he worked at the waves – his stomach and arm pulsing in turn.

Luffy checked the log pose again, and adjusted his course to match where the needle was pointing. Pausing long enough to shade his eyes from the sun to see further, he grinned. He could see the long form of an island in the distance, and so he reached into his pack for the water canteen from Ace to take a gulp before he started to row once more.

"I'm getting Nami back," he said, his determined smile still in place. "She's going to navigate for me, and eat mandarin oranges in front of my face to tease me, and hit me whenever she's cranky, and laugh with _and_ at me."

He swallowed nothing, feeling his cheeks actually heat at another thought, but he continued to smile. Buggy and Ace had both said the same thing, and that word had inspired notions to attempt something that had seemed impossible in the beginning. Now that they were so close, however, he was certain that they were only a stone throw away from it. He only had to do it once, and then he would know for sure, but he was already confident of what her feelings would actually be.

_Just once wouldn't hurt though,_ he grinned even wider – which was only possible due to his rubber body. _Only one time … or two … or three …_ Luffy laughed at himself, scratching the back of his head, _She'd beat me for sure after that._

Raising his head, he checked the log pose, and made sure the needle was still pointing at the island before he continued, seeing her face, and almost expecting to see her form on the beach and waving to him.

"_Luffy! Come off that log, you'll drown, you big oaf!" She peeled her orange, and smiled brightly, "We can go into town for a little bit if you want, but you better not pick any fights or we'll get caught."_

"_No," he said, "I just want to go home with you."_

"_Then what are you waiting for? Come rescue me!"_

Blinking when the sound of a gun cocking interrupted his little reverie, he directed his attention to a Marine ship that was fast approaching. Several guns were already pointed at him, and he scratched his head, wondering why they were even bothering with guns anymore since they no longer harmed him.

"Straw Hat Luffy!" Someone called from the deck, and he shaded his eyes to look up at a man standing there, "Surrender now, and we will not open fire."

With a grin, he indicated the guns, and said, "Those are no good against me."

"Oh, no," the officer said, "I think they are. Cadet Yamato! Fire!"

The sound of the gun firing surprised him – they always did even though he had no real need to fear them – but what really shocked him was that the bullet pierced his rubber flesh just above his chest. Crying out, he took the hit, and then attempted to roll the log back upright as the impact had almost knocked him over. Seizing a hold of his shoulder, he grimaced at the solemn looking man, grinding his teeth, "What … what kind of bullets are those?"

"Sharpened and pointed to break through even your hide, and tipped with Kairouseki to bring you down."

Luffy realized a moment too late that his vision had been blurring, and he toppled over, hitting the water, and sinking below, unable to move.

!#$&()+

_Yeah, I know that there's no action in this one, but I needed to transition into the action since there's been so much jumping around in the story – also, I wanted to try playing with Nami, so tell me how I did with her? Be honest. Also, I've just come up with something for readers to do. Please, if you're reading this, review with the word 'heso.' That's really all you have to say. You don't have to say anything else except 'heso' – though I would love it if you did. XP_

**chuck:**_ Of course, you do! I rock. Thanks for reviewing!_

**Chibi-Chichan:**_ Aaah, if you're so far behind …! Go read some more wonderful One Piece. Or watch it on YouTube, for the fans of One Piece are many and love to share. To put it simply though, a log pose is a type of compass used on the Grand Line because regular compasses don't work there. You should be able to wiki it without getting any spoilers. Thanks for the review and support!_

**Gabe Logan:**_ Thanks, so much! … Ack, I see so many Luffy/Nami stories in your profile, but I can't read Spanish …! …:D That's a good excuse to learn it now though. XP_

**overlord:**_ Who said that dawn was even approaching? Fuwahahahaha …_

**BlackNhite:**_ Yeah, everyone seems to be talking about 'em now … But they __**will**__ appear in the story, so worry not. So, people haven't been integrating the gears into their stories yet? How odd … :D Ah, well, I guess that I beat many people to the punch then._

**Zinfer: **_Since you reviewed twice in two different chapters, I must now respond to both. Ahem … AAaaaaaAAAaaagh! …… Did I win? Thanks for your reviews!_

**onepiece fanatic:**_ Wow, all these Ace fans seem really nice. I'm not that used to how different One Piece fans seem from other anime fans, but it's awesome so far. Okay! Thanks for reviewing!_

**sempai-sama:**_ Ooh, another one thinking about the rest of the Straw Hat crew? Don't worry. They'll appear in one shape or form in this fic._

**CSI Kaizoku:**_ Aw! Okay, I'll try to keep everything surprising and entertaining for you so that you keep hanging!_

**catho: **_Eeh? Why were you going to cry:D And yes, ma'am! I'll do what I can!_

**Koinu:**_ XP Thanks!_

**wheathermangohanssj4: **_Thank you __**so**__ much! Now that's what I'm talking about here! I'm just trying to keep most chapters around this length, and … -shrugs- well, there was just nothing more to add to the chapter, so I updated it. As for Luffy's attacks … XP Yes, I totally forgot about adding 'Giant' during Gear Third, so now it's fixed. And the others? I'm either going to reveal what they're up to at the end or give them their very own chapter after a cliffhanger (just to see who I annoy)._

!#$&()+


	6. A Wrong Turn at the Green!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_A Wrong Turn at the Green!_

_One-Sword Nami!_

Nami inspected her log pose, and stared at it, biting her lip as she listened to the guards march up and down the aisles on their round. When it became silent, she was startled when the old woman spoke again.

"Do you know why they let you keep that log pose?"

Jerking, Nami stared at her before looking back at the log pose, trying to ignore her as best as she could, "They just didn't notice it."

"Wrong," she said.

Frowning, she shot a withering glance at her, "Fine. Why didn't they take it away?"

The woman said, "They let you keep it so that you would see your way back disappear."

"What do you mean?"

"The time it takes for a log pose to reset on this island is exactly five hours." She tilted her head slightly as if to look at her like a bird – Nami compared her to a crow – using one eye, "You've been here for about three hours, right?" As Nami's eyes began to widen, clutching at the log pose on her wrist, the old woman said, "This is the Island of No Return. That means you can never return to whence you came. By the time that needle points away from the island where your friends are, you'll never be able to come back to them. You better hope that Monkey D. Luffy's luck holds out."

!#$&()+

Luffy blinked, and then sat up with a gasp, "Aagh! I fell asleep again!" He made a motion as if to row, but then blinked in confusion at the thick handcuffs around his wrists. "Ah? What's this?"

Glancing around, it slowly dawned on him, reminding him of how he had gotten to where he was. It helped that at least a dozen men had their guns pointed at him, but the Kairouseki handcuffs would have told him everything all on their own. As he looked at them, the men started to sweat nervously as if he would sprout horns, and break out of his cuffs to beat them into pulp.

The Marine officer that he had seen before entered the room a few minutes later after someone ran out to inform him that Luffy had awakened. He grinned, and said, "Welcome to the Island of No Return. It's the only place you'll be for the next five hours."

"That doesn't sound very scary."

The officer gnashed his teeth as he said, "Of course it is! When those five hours are up, you won't be able to go back to where you came from! Your navigator's log pose has only twenty minutes before it will reset."

"What!? Nami's really here then?" Luffy began to smile, and his arms and legs became jittery in excitement, ignoring the pang of his freshly wrapped shoulder.

Adjusting his cap, the officer said, "Of course. This is one of the best ways to make sure pirates can't easily return to their crews. The two of you will later be publicly executed together, of course, and-"

"That's great!" He said, and then he leapt to his feet, dodging the Kairouseki-tipped bullets as they shot at him in reaction. In such a closed in space however, some ended up shooting their comrades, and only grazed Luffy's arms and legs. With a yell, Luffy head butted the officer's torso, bringing him down effortlessly before he picked him up to face the others, using the disoriented officer as a shield.

The Marine sailors stopped firing at once, their eyes wide while Luffy used his cuffs to strangle the larger man. He said through coughs, "You'll never … make it in time …! The Marines here will stop … will stop you long before you … reach her …"

"Maybe," he said, "but I'll take that risk. Unlock me."

"Shoot him! Ignore me! Just shoot him!"

They shouted out as Luffy tightened his hold, "But, Captain!"

"Captain!"

"We can't shoot you, Captain!"

"Someone unlock me now!"

Luffy could hear the officer grind his teeth in annoyance before he dug into his pocket to pull the key out, "Damn it … you'll be stopped anyway … No one gets … away from here …"

He sighed in relief as the cuffs clicked open to free him. Grabbing the captain's shoulders, Luffy suddenly spun in place, tightening into a coil before he spiraled back, flinging their captain back at them before they could react.

As the men all toppled together, Luffy ignored the door, and broke through one of the windows instead by grabbing the window sill, and stretching his arms back while shouting, "Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"

When flung out into the sky, he looked down, and gaped at the sea below him. Acting fast, he glanced back to see a balcony, and he stretched out a hand to grasp it, springing onto it. Gasping for breath, he swallowed hard, and wiped his forehead while applying pressure to his stomach wound. It seemed that when he had been knocked out, the Marines had redone Ace's work, and wrapped him with clean, professional bandages – his sore feet as well. After checking himself very briefly, Luffy opened the door of the balcony, and ran down the hall, chanting her name.

After running for several minutes, he realized that he had passed that same balcony again, and he stopped to scratch his head, looking around in confusion. He said, "How am I supposed to find her in this big place?" He punched his flat palm suddenly, and said, "Oh, wait! Dungeons are always on the bottom floor!"

Grinning, he stretched his arms up before bringing his fists crashing down onto the flooring, and he fell down through the resulting hole before he repeated it. Some ten or fifteen floors down – he hadn't bothered to keep count, really – he punched the ground, and yelped in shock, blowing on his pained hands. Without realizing, he had hit steel, suddenly unable to go any lower even though his fists had dented the steel a bit. Looking around, he noticed that he was within what looked like a jail cellblock, and as luck would have it, he had just barely missed falling into a cell.

The cells were all almost filled with men, and as he walked down the aisle, some of the men reached out for him, shouting at Luffy to free them – and soon! – while most of the others sat in corners dejectedly, their log poses having obviously already reset. A few recognized him from his wanted poster though, and yelled at him, asking to join his crew if only he'd get them out. He had no business with them however, and he didn't let his eyes stop moving, jogging through the aisles as he looked for his navigator.

He shouted above the inmates' voices, shocking their din into silence, "Nami! Where are you?"

"Straw Hat! There he is!"

Someone started shooting at him, and Luffy began running, not entirely sure where he was heading anymore. If this was the jail, then had Nami been placed somewhere else?

As he headed for the sole exit, he pulled his arms back when the Marines guarding the way shot him, but Luffy grinned when their dull bullets did him no harm, "Gomu Gomu no" – and then he shot his hands out to strike the man in front – "Bazooka!" The hit toppled the man back, causing a sort of domino effect on the rest of the Marines behind him, and they all crashed into the wall, and fell to the floor. Picking one up on the way, Luffy continued to run, and started to smack him awake, "Oi, oi! Where's Nami? Tell me where my navigator is!"

"Over the rainbow and through the woods …" the man murmured, and then conked out again. Satisfied that he had gotten his answer, Luffy dropped him, still running.

"Over the rainbow and through the woods," Luffy started to chant, looking around the halls before he spotted a red sign overhead, and grinned. "Red's the first color!" He said, and ran under it, looking around for the next color of the rainbow until he saw the orange bulletin board, "Orange! Yellow, yellow, yellow! Where's yellow …?"

!#$&()+

She stared ahead at where the old woman had used to be, crossing and uncrossing her eyes in boredom. Now that she knew her reset time was coming down to its last hour, she hadn't seen anyone approach her cell; too wary to let Nami get a hold of any keys or weapons. The last time that anyone had even come into the aisle had been over an hour ago when the Marines had taken the old woman away – presumably to her permanent cell on another island.

Nami looked down at her log pose, her eyes dry, but threatening to pour tears once more. The needle had not yet twitched from its previous course, but she figured that she only had ten minutes or so left until she had no chance to see her friends ever again.

"I need more than luck to get out of here, lady," she said, and then lied down on the bed, keeping her eyes out in the aisle, and hoping that someone would be foolish enough to come by with the key to her cell.

She had already snitched several keys from the Marines when she had first been marched down to her cell, but it appeared that they had all been decoys as she had attempted to use them on her cell lock several times already. It seemed that they had planned ahead of time for her. Not only would she be devastated with losing the way back to her crew, but they had given her false hope by taking away any concept that she would escape as well.

Biting her lip, she curled her arms around herself, just about to close her eyes in sorrow until she heard the sound of feet slapping the steel floors.

"Huh? Hey, there's no blue in here. I took the way that guy told me though. Maybe I turned on the wrong green … Oh! I forgot about indigo! … Wait; is that before or after blue?"

Sitting up, Nami jumped to the cell door, and reached out her hand, "Luffy!"

"Nami?" When his face appeared in front of her cell, she nearly sobbed in relief, "Nami! Nami, Nami! I found you!"

"Luffy," she said, "hurry and find the key!"

He glanced down the hall, and, blanching, said, "There's too many to look through. Just get away from the door."

"What? Luffy, no, it's-" He grasped the bars before he promptly slumped to the floor, and she sighed, "It's made of Kairouseki." Reaching through the bars, she pushed him away from the bars, and slapped his cheeks, "Wake up, Luffy!"

Muttering tiredly, he gained his strength back quickly, and rubbed an eye as he stood, "Nngh, damn it … Nami, keep away from the door, okay? Hug the wall."

"You're not going to try that again, are you?"

"Do it!" Stunned, she backpedaled away from him before she just turned to press up against the bare, steel wall, covering her head as she peeked back to watch him. Without another look at her, Luffy stretched his arms down before he pummeled his fists into the ceiling with a "Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!" Cringing away, he favored his already bleeding fists, scowling at the weakened ceiling before he attempted again, winding up his arms this time before he said, "Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"

She clenched her eyes shut as the ceiling crashed down, stirring up dirt and grit, and sending metal shards on top of Luffy. When everything calmed down, she looked out, and saw a large pile of debris in the aisle, "Luffy …? Luffy, you idiot! Why are you doing this? You don't have to do any of this when you don't even need me!"

The ceiling right above the cell door abruptly cracked, and then buckled. Shrieking, she backed against the wall again, covering her head as everything came crashing down in front of her.

When the dust settled, she looked out again only for her eyes to widen at the sight of Luffy standing on top of the new pile, and gazing at her, perplexed. He said, "I _do_ need you, Nami. That's why I'm here." Taking her hand, he pulled her up with him as he jumped onto the floor above them, running down the hall, "I missed you, Nami! I wanted to give you this great treasure that I found, but I lost it on Alvida's ship!"

"Luffy-!"

"I'm sorry! I was so excited about getting you out of there I just forgot about it!"

"Luffy!"

"I said that I need you, and I mean it," he said, glancing back at her, and he smiled when he saw her heated blush.

"But, Luffy, we're going the wrong way!"

Eyes widening, he slid to a halt, still clutching to her, and then he took off down the other way, "Why didn't you tell me!?"

Trying to keep up, Nami said, "That's what I was trying to do!" Spotting the correct turn, she tugged at his hand, and led him down the hallway, the two of them still running, but with the navigator in the forefront, "Down here. The port is somewhere along the north coast. Where did you dock your boat?"

"I didn't have a boat," he said. "I tied myself to a log, and rowed out here."

"What!?"

"Then I got caught by the Marines, and now I don't even have a log anymore."

Scowling, Nami thought quickly, "We have to steal a boat small enough for just the two of us to manage. Did you see anything like that out there? I didn't get a chance to look."

"I don't know." Luffy laughed, "I wasn't awake when I got here."

Groaning, she pouted back at him before she looked forward, and stopped abruptly, "Luffy!"

"I got it! Gomu Gomu no," he shot forward, startling the two Marines that they had almost tripped over, and punched them down the hallway, "Pistol! … Ah, Nami, there's the dock."

Disregarding the knocked out men, Nami looked out the window he was referring to, and smiled, "All right! Now, we just have to find a way down."

"Okay," he said, and then he destroyed the glass of the window before scooping her into his arms, and jumping out.

Her heart nearly pounded through her chest as she hung from him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and screaming into his ear. She had remembered this much about the island on the way in if nothing else. Indeed, only the basement was below ground, but then, the ground around the first floor dropped off into a cliff, allowing escapists to fall to their doom or they were gunned down_ before_ falling to their doom.

When she looked up at Luffy however, he was unafraid – even smiling into the wind lashing at them – as they began to plummet, and she started to smile too. He reached out to grab the roots of a tree hanging out of the side of the cliff, and as Luffy's arm stretched down with them, their descent slowed until they were hovering a few meters above the bottom. Releasing the root, his arm snapped back into place, and they fell down the rest of the way. Still pressed against him, Nami swallowed her lungs – as they had leapt out into her mouth during the fall – and said, "Luffy."

"Huh?"

She punched the top of his head, sending his face into the dirt, "Don't ever do that again!" Dropping to her knees, she yanked his head out by his elastic neck, and said, "You've already risked everything else. You don't have to risk me with you!"

"Nami," he said, "does that mean you missed me too?"

Quavering, she hugged him tightly before she pulled back with a nod, "Let's get out of here."

"Okay!" Luffy pumped a bloody fist into the air before he got onto his bare feet, and jogged down to the dock.

Trailing after him, she checked the vicinity for Marines, and then looked at her log pose before she determined that it hadn't changed just yet. She then pointed to a small ship near the end of the dock as they approached, "I'll get that one, okay? You just make sure no one gets in the way."

"All right," he said, and she saw that his grin was still there as he sped up, knocking and slinging aside the sailors that attempted to assault them.

Doing her best to stay out of Luffy's range, Nami reached down to pick up a sword from a fallen Marine, and then cut the boat loose from its moor to the dock before she jumped inside. Checking the sides, she pulled the crank for the anchor, and lifted it from the ocean floor. Just as she turned, she found herself facing a Marine that had followed her onboard.

"Luffy!" She brandished the sword she had taken, feeling ridiculously like Zolo, and tried not to picture herself using his three-sword style.

"Oooh! Nami, you look cool!" Nami wilted when she heard Luffy's happy voice, and she glanced up to see him sitting on the boat's cabin, "You look just like Zolo!"

Snapping, she pointed the sword at him, "Luffy! Get rid of this guy! We're leaving!"

Again, Luffy's smile seemed to grow wider than the sea, and the moment that Marine saw him advancing, he appeared to rethink his position before he leapt out of the boat by himself. Luffy pouted, crossing his arms as he watched him swim away, "Aw, that's no fun."

"We don't have time for fun," she said, tossing the sword away. "Push off! We're going back!"

"Wait, Nami," he said, and she looked at him strangely.

"Luffy, we need to hurry, and get away from the island so we can still get back."

"It'll just take a second," Luffy said, and then he bent down to kiss her lips, still grinning when he pulled back and saw her rapidly heating cheeks. "Now we can go."

!#$&()+

_Heso! Believe it or not, but I was so far along in writing this chapter that when I read catho and onepiece fanatic's reviews, I got confused because I __**forgot**__ that I left the last chapter on a cliffhanger! It seems that the last chapter helped clear through the gunk in my head, and I just … started writing. So … this is a slightly longer chapter for you guys! The end is coming though, so … two or three more chapters to go? We'll see. Thank you for all your awesome reviews!_

**nonmember:**_ Heso! Thanks so much for taking the time to review! Much appreciated._

**kage karasu: **_Aw, you didn't say heso … XP Heso! Thanks so much! It's nice to hear that you still enjoy how the story's going._

**onepiece fanatic: **_Heso!_ _Indeed, it is evil, but now everything's almost better, and … another person that didn't say heso!_

**catho:**_ XP I'm sorry, but you're a very amusing emotional person. You're one of my favorites, I think. Ack! You didn't say heso! … Heso!_

**Gabe Logan:**_ Ah! You didn't say 'heso!' …… :D Oh, well, I'll live. Thanks for the luck __**and**__ the review! Heso!_

**wheathermangohanssj4: **_Heso! On the contrary, I have every right! But! Luckily, for you, I figured out what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the crew, and the cliffhanger idea isn't it. It's nice to know that Nami's character is okay though. I was really agonizing over her. Thanks for the review!_

**overlord:**_ Yeah, I figured a bit of a break was needed before the ending … Not that this is the end. Oh, no! Not just yet – it's not over! Heso! Thanks for reviewing!_

!#$&()+


	7. Gomu Gomu Island!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_Gomu Gomu Island!_

_Giving Back Stolen Goods!_

Robin awakened to the smell of bacon, coffee and eggs, and she knew that more delicious scents would be added to the mix soon enough. She rose, brushing her hair to tame it, and then found a blue tank top and black skirt to wear with thigh-high boots. On her way out, she nodded to Zolo.

He looked up from his guard post, and said, "Luffy and Nami didn't come back last night."

A thin brow lifted slightly, but she walked out to the deck where Zolo was, and looked out at the shore, "Strange. This island is normal enough."

"Maybe it's too normal," Zolo said.

Frowning just slightly, Robin nodded, and then grinned at him, "Come. I think breakfast is almost ready."

She gently greeted the others as they entered the dining room together, and chuckled when Sanji said, "Robin-chan, I've concocted heaven on a platter for thee! Please, partake of it, and direct that ever-lovely smile toward me. I would die a happy man."

"Finally," said Zolo, who started to dig into the food.

"Peh," Sanji leaned in, butting foreheads with the swordsman, "What'd you say, shit face?"

"I said, 'go drown, and die, love cook.'"

"Cook-kun," Robin said after eating a bit of the flan that their sea cook had served to her, "this is delicious."

"Aah, how my heart leaps with rapture to hear it, Robin-chan!"

While sneaking away some pieces of flan – with Robin's help – behind Sanji's back, Chopper said, "Are Luffy and Nami back yet?"

Scowling around a bite of bacon, Zolo said, "Nope. Did they say anything to you guys?"

"Not me," said Usopp, but then he leaned over to Chopper, and said while grinning, "But I think I know where they went."

Chopper said, "Really?"

Lowering his voice into a low, conspiratorial hum, he said, "What? You don't have any idea at all? It's obvious, don't you think? Luffy and Nami … together? … They must have gone to Gomu Gomu Island."

As stars appeared in Chopper's eyes, Sanji turned to Franky, "We saw them last on the river, right?"

"It's Luffy's birthplace, and the home of the Gomu Gomu people, all stretching, and training to become the very best!"

"Yeah," he said, swigging some Cola before he continued. "They were in the same boat."

"There, he ruled with a great rubber fist as their prince!"

Zolo finally pushed his plate away, crossing his arms as he idly watched Usopp lie to Chopper who was enthralled with his words, "We should go up the river, and look for their boat."

"Who put you in charge, shitty moss-head?"

"Luffy was not satisfied there though. Yet one day, he was inspired by the stories of a great captain, and so he set off to the sea to become the King of Pirates! And do you know who that captain was?"

"I'm the first-mate, and since Nami's not here to order us around, I'm in charge while the captain's gone!"

"Captain Usopp?" Chopper said.

"That's right! Captain-!"

Sanji kicked, and Zolo punched Usopp's head at the same time, squishing it between both the fist and the foot, "Shut the hell up!"

"U … sopp …"

Robin set down her coffee cup, resting her chin on a palm, "That's a good plan though. It's best to investigate the river foremost. There might be something there we didn't see the first time."

Standing up, Zolo nodded, clacking his katana to indicate them, "I'll go check it out myself in case there's trouble."

"What're _you_ going to do? You'd get lost before you got anywhere near them." Sanji said, "You couldn't go up a river if you were swimming in it."

"Shut it! At least, I wouldn't get distracted by some native girl, and go up _her_!"

Kicking a chair out of his path, Sanji said as he advanced, "Say that to my face, you shitty moss-head!"

"What, your face? Or do you mean your ass?"

Sighing, Robin stood up, and tapped Usopp's shoulder with a hand that bloomed from the floor – as Usopp was still lying on the floor from the hit, "Long Nose-kun, Doctor-san, will you come with me?" Beaming, Chopper jumped up to go take Robin's hand, and their sniper sat up with a shake of his head to clear himself. She said, "I think these two are a little busy right now."

"Need any help?" Franky said, stocking up on Cola in his chest compartment.

"No, we'll just take the Mini Merry up the river together. Long Nose-kun can send a flare if we come across anything."

Usopp abruptly grasped Robin's shoulder, and said quite seriously, "I've got I-have-a-bad-feeling-about-going-up-the-river-itis."

She smiled, and said, "I don't think Doctor-san can help with that."

"It's incurable," the reindeer agreed.

!#$&()+

Usopp blinked, and then settled back on the small lamb head to look at the others, pushing his goggles up his head, "There's their boat. It's just a kilometer upriver."

"Are they okay?" Chopper said, growing into his Heavy Point so he could see better over the railing.

"I didn't see them," he said, scratching his chin in worry.

"Look again. They have to be there!"

"Okay, okay." Setting the goggles back on, he adjusted the lenses, searching around the boat, "Well, it's tied up to a tree, so the stop was deliberate. Maybe they didn't want to sleep on the boat, and went ashore." His eyes trailed over the river's edge, looking around trees and starting to frown deeper. He said, "There's no sign of them anywhere though."

As the Mini Merry came up beside the rowboat, Chopper tossed down the anchor, and leapt into the boat, popping into his Brain Point just before he landed. He picked up their sandals, and waved them at Robin and Usopp.

"Why'd they leave their shoes?"

Robin said, "I remember that Navigator-san complained about her sandals bothering her."

"What about Luffy's though?" Usopp said, pulling up his goggles again.

Getting out of the boat and onto shore, Chopper wandered into the forest, "Luffy! Nami!"

"Oi, oi! Wait for us, Chopper," he said before he jumped out to land in the river, knee-deep in water as he trudged onto land.

He followed Chopper in, nervously glancing around while pulling down one goggle eye to inspect their surroundings. Hearing Robin jump onto the shore, he glanced back to make sure it was her. Confirming that, he walked along, feeling slightly better until he saw something glinting on a tree, and he zoomed in with his goggles before he tensed in alarm.

"Nami! Nami! Luffy!"

"Cho – Chopper! Robin! There's a sword over here!"

The three came up to the sword, and Robin was the first to dare to come closer, touching the bits of paper hanging from where the blade was imbedded. Abruptly, Chopper looked around, and said, "I can smell Luffy and Nami!"

"What? Track 'em then," Usopp said, watching Chopper turn into Walk Point, and then followed the reindeer as he sniffed the ground.

"Someone left a note for the other," said Robin.

"You mean Luffy left Nami a note? Or Nami left him a note?"

"No," she said. "Someone else must be on the island."

Usopp's nose dripped, and then he said to Chopper, "I have a cure. It's called let's-get-back-on-the-boat-and-get-the-hell-away-from-here."

Chopper said, still sniffing, "You can cure yourself. Robin and I will stay out here."

"No way, I'm not going back alone!"

"Do you smell anyone else, Doctor-san?" Robin asked.

Snuffing a bit longer before he answered, Chopper then said, "The trail splits around here. Someone took Nami, and Luffy must've followed them."

"Huh?" Usopp poked, "Why'd he split from them? Wasn't he chasing after?"

"I can't smell why he did that!"

"They must have taken her when he didn't know, and left a note for him." She said, "The captain took the right way for a while, but they were long gone, so he must have just kept going the way he was."

"Why didn't that idiot leave the note for us to find too?" Usopp said, "It could've told us where to go and what was going on."

!#$&()+

His nose itched, so he reached into his pocket – his fingers flicking against something hard – took out a soggy piece of paper, and sneezed into it. Throwing it over the side, Luffy grinned at Nami who was approaching with a first aid kit she had found in the small cabin.

Taking his hat off her head, Luffy plopped it back onto his own, and sighed at the familiar sensation. The sun was shining high in the sky with errant clouds sometimes blocking its rays, but the temperature was blazing, and Luffy wondered if it was possible for his body to melt – though if he could, it surely would have done him in when he had been in Alabasta. He watched Nami against the sparkling water. She brushed a loch of hair behind her ear, and he smiled, enjoying the everyday sight as if it were new.

Nami suddenly punched his shoulder, frowning at him, and he knew what it was about because her cheeks were pink, "What the hell was that kiss for? You could've lost the way back to everyone! Who even knows how much time we had left to leave?"

"Nami," he said, smiling when her cheeks immediately started to darken, "I really missed you."

Rolling her eyes with a sigh, she then set the first aid kit down while she knelt beside him, "So that's why?"

"You're my navigator, and I really like you."

"Now, you're just babbling," she flung the kit open, and then started to pull off the grimy bandages on his hands. Taking out a clean cloth, she spread some salve onto his hand, and he winced, but let her rub the salve into his aching palms and fingers. "I can't believe that you … A log? No wonder you're so scraped up."

"I was shot and stabbed too," he said.

Cringing, she nudged his chest, "Don't grin like that, you idiot! You're severely injured here."

"I stopped bleeding though," Luffy pulled open his vest to look at his shoulder wrap and stomach. "Those bandages look clean enough."

"Close enough, I guess," she sighed, "I'm no doctor anyway. Those can stay on, but I'll wrap your hands and feet." Nami looked up at him in bewilderment then, "What was wrong with your sandals?"

"Nothing, I thought you were taking a barefoot walk, so I took them off, and followed you." Laughing, he scratched the scar on his cheek, "But then I found the note that squishy guy left, so I went after you, ripped out a log, and chased after the ship."

She smiled a bit, "You're so stupid."

"You still like me though, right?"

Clearing her throat, she started to wrap his fingers, "Of course, I like you, but … you shouldn't go around stealing kisses like that. People might think it's something that means a lot more."

Grinning widely, he leaned down slightly, causing her to look into his eyes in surprise, and he said, "Nami, did you want to steal it back?"

Slowly smiling, Nami leaned up, stroking the brim of his hat before she shoved it over his face, "In your dreams, straw brain!"

With a laugh, he wrapped his arms around her, and dragged her into his lap before he started to tickle her. After his navigator very quickly joined in with his laughter, he planted his lips firmly onto her own, and was thoroughly pleased when she reciprocated very kindly, his fingers slowing to a stop before they rested on her back.

When they pulled apart, she said, "I stole it back. What're you going to do about it?"

"I could steal it again," he said, his grin wider than ever, and warmer than the sun as he lightly butted heads with her. "But then we'd be back and forth like that all day."

"I could share the kiss with you," she said, and it was his turn to blush.

!#$&()+

Usopp groaned, holding his head as he looked at the ocean shore, and Chopper said, "This is where the trail ends."

"You're kidding," he said, and then he slumped to sit on the beach, crossing his arms in thought. "He didn't try to go swimming after them, did he? He's not that stupid."

"Wait," Robin said, and she touched a tree stump that had seen much better days as it looked as if someone had pummeled and then wrenched it from its weaker point. "This looks freshly torn off."

"Luffy does have that kind of strength," he mused.

When Chopper smelled the stump, he nodded, "His scent is on it. There are pieces of dead wood on the beach that smell like him too."

"So he went after the ship on a log because he didn't have time to get us and the Thousand Sunny."

"So it seems," she said, her eyes then on the horizon. "I just hope that he knows he has to get her before the log pose resets on another island. I'm sure that Navigator-san can take care of herself though."

Usopp grinned, "Hah, she just might save him instead of the other way around. He's out on the Grand Line in a _log_ after all."

"With no sandals," Chopper said.

"And his name."

Cocking his head to the side, Usopp said, "Ah? What's that supposed to mean, Robin?"

"Hmm, it's nothing," she said, and then she began to walk back into the jungle, the mystery having been solved. The two only shrugged at each other before he went to follow, both seemingly trying to figure out how to tell Sanji that Nami _wasn't_ on the island.

!#$&()+

_So! That's what they've been up to … XP since a lot of you asked about them anyway. At any rate, I think the next chapter may or may not be the last. Review like hell if you want at least two more chapters as I do have ideas for a bit more, but I'm kind of lazy feeling._

**BlackNhite: **_Hearing that always makes me happy. Next on their list is making Luffy the King of Pirates, naturally. XP Thanks!_

**Nuit Fleur: **_The same goes for you! Thank you! So what's your favorite scene so far? I loved writing the scene in _Dreams of a Floating Barrel_ where Luffy washes ashore on the uninhabited island. It was just screaming of Luffy's desperation …_

**overlord:**_ Fuwahaha, thanks!_

**CSI Kaizoku: **_XP More like ripping them out from their holdings to the walls and ceilings. That silly boy. Well, I do have a sequel in mind. Or if not a sequel, then just another story, but it would help if it were a sequel because then I wouldn't have to write about them getting together again … I'm lazy like that. Thank you!_

**Gabe Logan: **_Heso:D Thanks for the luck and review again! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!_

**kage karasu:**_ Heso! Thanks for the review! XP Fuwahaha, everyone seems to be enjoying the kiss scene, but it's just so simple looking now that I see it – though it took a while to create._

**chuck: **_Of course you are! XP Thank you for the review!_

**catho: **_Yes, I shall dub thee my favorite. But then, I love every review that comes in! A lot had to be done to get to that kiss and I had to deliberate and tweak stuff until the setting and scene of it all was just right, so I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much!_

**wheathermangohanssj4: **_Of course, it's part of what makes stories interesting. If you don't keep the feeling of the show, you're basically making something else … :D And I just hope I live up to that feeling Oda's still creating to this day._

**Cybertoy00: **_Awesome, it's always great to know that I have Luffy down right. Thanks so much! And the others are here now!_

!#$&()+


	8. Awful, Terrible Threats!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_Awful, Terrible Threats!_

_I'm Stealing Your Treasure!_

"Luffy."

He blinked, and then smiled, having been gently awakened by her voice. Tilting his head up, he could see her face looking down at him, her orange hair contrasting with the bright blue sky, and making her appear more radiant. When an ever-goofy grin formed on his lips, she pulled on the bottom one, stretching it a foot into the air.

"Hey, Luffy," she said, looking pensive, "why'd you put your hat on my head?"

Blinking again, he crossed his eyes, first watching her fingers on his bottom lip, and then watched her hair sway. He said, "I don't know. You looked nice." At least, he attempted to – because it was hard to talk when half of his mouth was firmly pinched and stretched out a foot into the air – and he said it again when Nami let go.

She smiled, and traced his lip then, "So you think I'm pretty?"

"Well, yeah," he said.

Seeming to wait a bit longer for more, Nami then frowned, and said, "That's it? That's all you're going to say?"

"Ah? There's more to say?" Nami opened her mouth before it shut with a slight click, her face becoming thoughtful once more. When her face stayed that way for quite some time, he grinned, leaning up to kiss her.

She yanked on his nose when he finished, and she stuck her tongue out at him, "Okay, I get it, you big lummox. It was stupid of me to ask."

Nodding very seriously, Luffy said, his voice nasally from her tugging on his nose, "See, I'm smart, Nami."

Shoving his nose back into his face in the form of a punch, she said, "Let's not get carried away."

Grinning again when he had his face back in order, he sat up to lean back against the cabin, turning his gaze to the bow of the dinghy. He saw her inspect their log pose out of the corner of his eye, and then she headed into the cabin. When he was certain that she was gone, he reached into his pocket, feeling for the bit of hardness he had felt before, and finally pulled out a string of pearls. As he inspected it, he thought, _It must've fallen into my pocket when I was packing that bag._

Hearing Nami come out, he thrust it back into his pocket, trying to smile innocently at her before he saw her brandishing the first aid fit again.

"Didn't you already wrap me up enough?"

"Your lips are chapped up pretty bad," she said, opening the box to pull out a little stick of lip balm. "I'm not kissing you again until they're nice and smooth."

He drooped against the cabin, pouting at her, "No more?"

"It's just until your lips are better," she said. "It'll help moisturize them, and your lips will feel a lot better."

Touching them, he pulled off a bit of dead skin, and then licked them, "They feel fine."

"They look like crap, so don't do that!" He pulled his head away when she knelt beside him with the lip balm. Nami reached around to pull his lips toward her, but he covered his stretched out lips with a hand, "Luffy! Come on, don't you like kissing me?"

He nodded, but kept his lips safely covered.

"So why won't you let me put it on?"

Pulling his lips back so that he could talk, he said, "That stuff isn't cool at all! I don't like it."

Giving out a long-suffering sigh, Nami then slid onto his lap, and his eyes enlarged while he swallowed shallowly. She said, her forehead suddenly against his, and leaning in close so he could feel her sweet breath, "Luffy, please …? I want to kiss you." When he stretched his lips out, she covered them, shoving them back, "With smooth lips!"

"Yours are smooth enough for the both of us," he said with a smile.

Glowering, Nami muttered, "Nice try, bucko. Now pucker up or you'll have to wait even longer to feel my smooth lips _anywhere_."

His eyes went wide, shifting a bit so she wasn't positioned awkwardly on his lap before he said under her hand, "You're evil."

"Indeed, I am," she said, pulling off her hand to apply the lip balm to his currently complying lips. He pouted, and made disgusted faces when she was done, but smiled when she kissed his cheek, "There. That wasn't so bad, now was it? You're still alive."

"It feels funny," he said, wiping at his lips.

Smacking the side of his head, she said, "Don't rub it off! It takes time to get your lips soft."

Groaning, he held still for her to apply the lip balm again. He made another face, but tried not to reach up to rub it all off, scowling at her pleased face. Luffy asked, "How long will it take?"

"I don't know," she said. "Come kiss me when all that dead skin is gone and we'll go from there." Nami stood up, checking the log pose before she groaned, "Let's get the boat pointed in the right direction. It took so long just to get you to wear a little lip balm! Honestly, Luffy, you're awful."

"You're the one threatening me with no kisses," he said, jumping up to adjust the sail with her where she directed.

"Lips are gross when they're chapped!"

Luffy said, "My lips are gross?"

"No!"

Tying the ropes back down, he frowned at her, "You were kissing me a lot yesterday though. Why didn't you put any of that stuff on me then?"

He saw her cheeks heat, "I was just caught up in the moment, so I didn't care as much."

"And you care today?"

"Yes," she said, the blush wearing away. "Besides, now you'll be able to feel my lips better without all that dead skin in the way."

He grinned broadly, "Really?"

"Really," Nami said, and then she gaped at him when he took the lip balm from her to put on more. When it dawned on her, she flared bright pink, "Hey, wait a minute! Just how much do you think you're going to kiss me?"

!#$&()+

Sanji pulled at his hair, and fell to his knees, "Nami-swan! My poor, delicate breath of sea air upon my face! How horrified and vulnerable you must be right now!"

Zolo decided at that point that it would just be too easy to tease the cook then, and said, "I almost feel sorry for her too. We're talking about Luffy here. He'll drown in the first storm that hits him." The group spun in surprise at the thrash of abrupt lightning somewhere out at sea, and then they glared at him, "… What?"

"Well," Usopp cleared his throat, and said, "it seems that it's time to vote for a new captain now that Zolo jinxed Luffy to the watery depths."

Nearly sobbing, Chopper tugged at Zolo's pant leg, "How could you!?"

"Oi," he said, "we're not voting anything until we know for sure that he's dead."

"How're we going to know that?" Usopp said.

"We'll wait for his body to wash up on the shore," Robin said.

Everyone except for the lamenting Sanji made a slapping motion, "Oi!"

"Robin-chan!" The cook finally got to his feet again, standing beside her, and taking her fine, dark hands into his own, "I know how pained you must be with our dearest Nami-san missing, but fear not, for I am here to comfort you in any way that I can. Shall I make you a pot of coffee to help calm your frazzled nerves? I'll sweeten it with my love."

"Eugh," Zolo said. "That would take away all the taste."

"What'd you say, shitty moss-brains?" Sanji was abruptly standing in front of him, his eyes overshadowed by his brow as he lit a cigarette.

"I said, 'your breath would kill a sea king.'"

"Robin," Chopper said, "do you really think Luffy's going to die?"

"Pah, your ugly face has done far worse!"

"So get out of it, dart-brow!"

Smiling tenderly, she knelt down at bit at her knees, and patted his furry cheek, "Of course not. The captain knows what he's doing. We all know that he'll come back right as rain. We just have to be patient."

"Dart-brow!?" Sanji raised a knee high, ready to strike out with a well-placed kick at any given moment while Zolo unsheathed a portion of his sword, "To think you'd still stick with that shitty insult, you shitty seaweed-head."

"What, you can't take it? Dart-brow, dart-brow, dart-brow!"

"Oi," Usopp said, "you're making me tired just by watching you two."

"Shitty moss-head! Shitty moss-head!"

"Keh." Franky slammed their heads together, making the two collapse to the deck, and he said, "About time they shut up."

"Franky!"

"What? Somebody had to do it and Nami's not here." He pointed at the railing where he had been doing some repairs, and said, "I finished here, but the captain's still missing, huh?"

"Yes," Robin said, "and with Navigator-san gone, we couldn't leave even if we wanted to. She had the log pose, and there was no sight of it in the boat at all."

Sweeping thick fingers through his hair, Franky said, "What a bother. They better be in trouble, or I'll be pissed."

"Ah?" Usopp looked up from his inspection of the railing, "What do you mean? Of course, they're in trouble. We found that sword, and their scent led out into the sea."

"What, you don't think they wouldn't run off for some alone time?"

Chopper smiled, and said, "You mean they really went to Gomu Gomu Island?"

Pulling up his sunglasses, he gave him an odd look before saying, "I guess you could put it that way if you want."

Chuckling, Robin said, "Cyborg-san, Doctor-san said there were other scents too. Navigator-san could have set up the sword and planned out the log, yes, but not those scents."

"He's sure taking his sweet time then," Franky said.

Tilting her head just so, Robin smiled at the storm they could all see raging kilometers away from the still peaceful island, "He might be."

Sanji stood up, relighting his doused cigarette, and said, "What's going on?"

"It's nothing important." She said, attempting to save him some grief, "Cook-kun, didn't you promise me some coffee?"

"Yes, Robin-chan!" With thus said, Sanji spun away, heading for the cabin.

Rubbing his head, Zolo sat up on the deck, just sitting there a while before he looked up at the storm, "Think that might hit us?"

Usopp hummed, pulled down a goggle eye to look out, and said, "I don't think it's coming this way."

"Might as well pull up the sails though," Franky said. "Any errant gusts from that might pull the ship and the anchor along and out of this gulf."

"Ah?" Chopper said, "Really?"

"Really; this is the Grand Line after all," he said, moving toward the ropes. "Hear that, kids!? Let's get those sails up, pronto!"

!#$&()+

Luffy stared at the pirate flag for a long time, tilting his head this way and that before he finally said something about it.

"Oi, Nami, it's those squishy guys."

"Huh?" She poked her head out of the cabin, and stared at the ship bearing down at them before she paled, "Luffy! It's heading straight for us!"

"I know," he said.

"So why didn't you warn me!?"

He grinned, pointing at it as if she wasn't already aware of the huge ship, "That's where I stole that treasure from, and there's even more inside." Pulling out the pearl necklace, he said, "More stuff like this."

Her eyes glittered until she shook out of it, "We still need to get out of the way!"

"Aye!" Jumping to his feet, he went to pull out the oars while Nami repositioned the sails, and the two redirected the small boat to waters that weren't in the large ship's path. Kissing her cheek, he laughed, and said, "I'll be right back."

"Hey, you're not supposed to kiss me yet!"

He pulled out the pearl necklace again, depositing it into her hand before he leaned in to press his lips to hers regardless of what she said, and held there a long while before he dodged out of her swinging fist's range, laughing as he stretched an arm out to the other ship's railing. Luffy hung there beside the ship, waving at her furious face before he sprung onto the deck, racing past the men of the Squishy Pirate Crew.

"It's you! Hey!"

"Ah?" Luffy stopped long enough to look up at the fat man standing in his way to the treasure, "Oh, it's you, squishy guy!"

Stomping a foot, he said, "My name is Vincent!"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meet you."

"Oh," he grinned, and gave a short nod of the head. "It's nice to meet – hey, wait! You're on my ship again! What're you doing here?"

Smiling, he patted his straw hat, and said, "I'm going to steal your treasure."

As the captain burst out laughing, so did the rest of the crew, holding onto their bellies, and using their crewmates' shoulders as support. Vincent said, "That's a fine way to go about it, huh? You're not supposed to tell people you're stealing from 'em, kid. Best just turn around now before we shoot you."

Beginning to laugh himself, Luffy slung his hat from its string around his neck, allowing it to rest against his back, "Okay, if that's how we're doing it."

"Hmm?" He narrowed an eye at the young captain, "Fine, if you want to die like a dog, far be it from me to deny you." Vincent pointed at him, and the crew lifted their swords and guns respectively, "All right, boys, aim, and … fire!"

Leaping at the last moment, Luffy grabbed the mast, and swung over their heads to the cabin door, letting the men shoot each other. Heading down, he dashed down the hall to the room where the treasure had been, and grinned at the guards inside.

One raised his gun, and said, "Don't move, kid, or I'll shoot!"

Ignoring him, Luffy ran forward, letting the bullets that the two guards shot at him reflect back, imbedding into the walls. Grabbing a chest, he looked inside before realizing that it was already full, and shut it, going through the four chests before he grinned in satisfaction.

"Shoot him! Shoot him!" He heard Vincent say, and Luffy looked over his shoulder to see the captain in the doorway, turning red from the effort of running down and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Grinning, Luffy turned around to face them, and sucked in air, inflating his body as the bullets hit him, and sprang them all back, still laughing and smiling as he deflated back to his normal size. Yanking on his cheek, he said, "Bullets don't work on me." He froze, his smile twitching as the lot of them pulled out swords, "Ah …"

!#$&()+

… _XP Oi, oi, sorry for not saying more on the rest of the crew earlier – wasn't thinking properly, I guess. I might have another chapter with them coming up in it, so sit tight for more. Also, now that I'm thinking of it, there might be up to ten chapters for this thing. Thank you for all of the great reviews, everyone!_

**Rakara: **_There you are! Thanks so much for reviewing in those chapters! Means muchly to me!_

**BlackNhite: **_My favorite sentence in the world is 'Plums deify.' Awesome! I've got a chair-faller-out-of! I had to think a little bit more deeply with these guys to get started, but once I was going, they became pretty easy too. I need to watch out for Franky though, I think … he's so new that it'll be hard to pin down his personality. Yeah, again, Luffy is a lot more straightforward than people portray him as. If he wants something, you know he's going to get it – no doubt or awkwardness about it. He wants a kiss, so he'll take it, damn it! XP Thank you!_

**overlord: **_… You dig it …? O.o Miss Merry Christmas, is that you!?_

**wheathermangohanssj4: **_Heso! XP Yeah, I did. Sorry about that, but I've written up another smattering of the crew. Just tell me if you want to see more of them, and I'll see what I can do. And Zolo is Zolo. I don't see why everyone's making such a fuss about the 'r' becoming an 'l' as if nothing more insidiously terrible was done to the anime._

**Koinu: **_I don't know. Where were you:D Thanks for the review!_

**catho: **_ Yes, I was surprised too! –throws tissues at you– Thanks for reviewing!_

**kage karasu: **_Heso! My, you're not complaining about all the chapters, are you? Never heard of such a complaint before … I'll take it as a compliment instead then!_

**chuck: **_XP Gomu Gomu Island was all a lie concocted by the devious mind of Captain Usopp to amuse their pet reindeer! Thanks for reviewing!_

!#$&()+


	9. Shocking Front Page News!

**A Log Pose to Nami**

_Shocking Front Page News!_

_The End of a Beginning!_

"Robin-chan, I have for you a delectable treat from the North Sea. Its fragrance will alleviate your senses, and tease your taste buds with ecstasy," Sanji set the bowl of varied fruits with the aromatic, light glaze beside Robin on the table.

The sun was up and shining and the crew were passing the time like any other day on the beach. It was to be noted, however, that half of the usual noise was gone, but no one mentioned the spaces of quiet, as it was new and slightly relaxing. Sometimes, Sanji would look out at the horizon, frowning to himself, but trying to be patient. He knew that if anyone would bring Nami back, it was their captain, and he'd be damned if he didn't. The cook cracked two nuts in his fist before he ate the tender meat from within, imagining that he was practicing with Luffy's – in case of disaster.

Yet, he was still certain that he would see the two before long, and he trusted Luffy.

A space of quiet from the crew was interrupted by the steady squawk of a bird, and Sanji glanced up at it, almost expecting to hear their captain say that he would bring it down so Sanji could cook. The bird didn't look particularly appetizing though, resembling something between a fat seagull and a pelican. After a moment, he squinted at it, sucking in a long breath from his cigarette before he turned to Robin.

"That bird's carrying something," he said.

"Hmm?" She looked up, and said, "It must have some newspapers."

As is landed in front of the two – having obviously decided they were in charge of their rabble – Sanji took the newspaper offered to him, and looked more closely at the name of the paper when he didn't recognize it right away, "The _Pirate's Journal_?" He and Robin shared a bewildered look before he unrolled it only to have a nasty start of surprise upon viewing the front page picture, "What the hell!?"

!#$&()+

Gathering up a treasure chest, Luffy spun in place, flinging the heavy chest at his attackers, and then coiled his arms around two of the remaining chests, lifting them under his arms. In his attempt to high tail it away and out to Nami, he used the chests as bludgeons, knocking aside pirates as he went, and kept his grin firmly in place.

However, at the door of the treasure room, Captain Vincent stood firmly in his way. When Luffy smacked his rotund belly, the chest sank into the blubber, and he balked, trying to pull the chest and his arm back out of Vincent's stomach.

"You think a paltry hit like that would do me in, kid? I've eaten the Squish Squish Fruit!" He unsheathed his own sword, and pointed it at the younger captain, "Any attack on my person just sinks right in me."

"Ugh!" With some effort, Luffy finally yanked his arm and the treasure chest out, and stuck out his tongue at the man, disgusted, "That's nasty! Who'd want to eat that fruit?"

"Says the guy that can stretch his limbs out! What the hell's with _that_?" Vincent shot forward suddenly, and planted his fist into Luffy's face, sending him across the room to collapse against the wall opposite of the door. "This power makes me invincible! No attack will ever do me harm again."

Gritting his teeth, Luffy stood up, still clinging to the treasure chests as he assessed this odd situation. With a harsh snort, he swung his arm, crashing the chest into the side of Vincent's head, but cringed when the impact was absorbed into his round body again, causing his arm and chest to be stuck within the flesh. Bringing his other arm around, Luffy swung down on top of his head, resulting in that arm sticking inside as well.

_Wait, why did I think that would work …?_

Turning, Vincent flung Luffy out of himself, and he crashed to the wall again, groaning under the weight of the chests since they had fallen atop him. _What works against something that's squishy?_ He almost stuck out his tongue, revolted again by this turn of events, but ended up rolling onto his feet as he avoided another punch, still carrying the heavy chests. Spying a window, he realized that he could see the sky, and so he edged sideways toward it, keeping his body facing toward his opponent.

Vincent laughed raucously, "What's this? You trying to get away, kid? I promise I won't smash your face too much. Hell, let's just forget all this animosity and you can join me. You seem like the tough sort."

"No way," he said. "Your Devil Fruit power is too weird. I don't like it."

"Shut the hell up, you skinny rubber band!"

_If I can't hit you …!_

"Gomu Gomu no," he said, and, pulling his arms back, he smashed through the wall and window, his arms stretching out over the water. Luffy spun his arms together like a screw, and then veered them over his head, striking into and through the ceiling of the room. The two chests finally struck home into the floor just beside the astonished Vincent's feet, "Golden Flail!"

The massive blow collapsed the flooring below Captain Vincent, and so the man fell through. It was not the only damage done to the ship however. Water began to pour in from the bowels where Luffy had smashed the chests, flooding the ship, and seeping up to wear Luffy watched the man start to drown. After taking a few quick breaths, he looked around to see that the conscious pirates had been smart enough to get away as quickly as possible – though a few peeked in once they had heard their captain.

Noticing that the ceiling was likely about to collapse on top of him because of his recent stunt, he looked out into the ocean, glancing right and left for his ride.

"Oi, Nami!" He waved at her when he saw her trying to row the boat toward him.

"Hurry up and jump in! This is hard to do by myself," she said, pulling a pout at him, and he grinned, stepping back to give himself a bit of a running leap onto their dinghy. When he put the large chests in front of her, she beamed brightly, clapping her hands together, "Wow! This will feed your gullet for at least a week, Luffy! Great job." She patted his cheek, and then pointed off into the horizon, "Let's get going now!"

Nami sweated nervously when he stopped long enough to apply more lip balm. He then pumped his fist – the lip balm stick still brandished in his hand – and said, "Okay! Back to the crew!"

!#$&()+

"– _have been going so far as to say that it was an inside job. Yet, here in the pirate community, we know that the strength and determination of this particular pirate brings doubt to those accusations._

"_When we spied on the Captain of No Return's base, we overheard the truth on this event, and perhaps some startling revelations about our investigation of the recent attack of Enies Lobby. The sixteen million bounty, Nami, was brought in by an – as of yet – unknown crew who claimed her bounty, and left quickly. It was only hours later that her three hundred million berry captain was found by the Marines._

"_Upon his awakening at the base, Monkey D. Luffy escaped, and destroyed several floors on his way down to the prison cells. The Marines are now planning the reconstruction of the eighteen floors that were smashed apart._

"_Some further snooping showed that the Kairouseki bar doors which had held Nami had been torn from their moorings to the ceiling, floor, and walls! Whether or not Captain Luffy or Nami pulled out the Kairouseki bars is still questionable. However, such monstrous strength must surely be attributed to a man that can lead others to take down Enies Lobby. What a terrible figure he must be!_

"_The two pirates have escaped on a dinghy, leaving the dock in a confused enough state that none could give chase. Right now, we don't know if Captain Luffy's log pose reset before they could find the rest of the Straw Hat crew._

"_Has Captain Luffy and his lover, Nami, returned after visiting the Island of No Return!?_

"_Read again in the next exciting edition of the _Pirate's Journal_!"_

Sanji took the newspaper away from Zolo when he finished reading aloud, and shoved the front picture into Luffy's face, "Lover!? Explain!"

Pale, Nami swiped the newspaper out of his hands, and then shrieked at the sight of her and Luffy's first kiss at the Marine's base. Rolling it up, she started slapping Luffy with the paper, "You planned this, didn't you?"

"I didn't plan anything," he said between her strikes, covering his head feebly with his hands. "I just wanted to kiss you."

"Aargh! Now they'll think they can use me against you, Luffy! How could you!?"

Sanji pressed in his nose as well, nearly crying as he puffed broken hearts from his cigarette, "What happened here? Nami-san doesn't deserve her face being plastered across the Grand Line locking lips with you. Real men do not kiss and tell! Nami-swan is a fragile and beautiful flower – you can't treat her like she's something to show off!"

Luffy blanched slightly as he watched his cook go on, "But, Sanji-"

"Oi, love cook," Zolo said, "aren't you upset that the captain 'stole' Nami?"

"Nobody stole anything!" She said – though none of what she had said seemed to reach their ears.

"I'm plenty upset about that, moss-head," he gestured briefly to Luffy with his cigarette before popping it back into his mouth, "but if he's going to treat her wrong on top of it, I'm going to kick his ass." Turning to Luffy, he said, "And you better know that right now."

Luffy smiled, and said, "I know."

Sucking in a long drag of his cigarette, and then blowing out rings, he said as he took the newspaper again, and swatted his chest, "So then what's all this about? Smooch away from cameras next time."

"I wanted to kiss her though," he said, and then his eyes lit up abruptly. "They're really nice and soft!"

"Don't kiss and tell, shitty rubber man!" Sanji stomped on top of his head, continuing to kick even with Luffy down on the deck.

Nami only sighed, already having wasted most of her blushes on the first day of Luffy's candid advances, and said to Robin, "I wanted to keep it quiet a while longer, but I should've known that would be impossible on _this_ ship. I wanted to get used to all of it first."

With a gentle laugh, Robin said, "Navigator-san, I'm surprised you even considered the thought that your relationship could be hush-hush." She nodded to the newspaper in Sanji's fist, "The _Pirate's Journal_ certainly helped it along though."

"Yeah," she said, "and it didn't give Luffy the chance to screw up. What's that _Journal_ thing about anyway?"

"It seems to be fairly new. The _Pirate's Journal_ is a newspaper made for pirates by pirates," she said. "They use it to bring important news and information to the pirates on the Grand Line; bounty lists, pirate gatherings and any recent raids too. It's a fine business to get into. They seem to like our crew too, I think."

Somehow, Luffy crawled out from under Sanji's rampaging feet, and sprang up in front of Nami, "Oh! Nami, Nami, you're wearing it!" He poked the pearl necklace around her throat, and just grinned as wide as ever, making her smile with him.

"Oi, shitty captain, get back here!"

"Uwah! Bye, Nami! See you later!" The captain peeled rubber down the deck in his effort to escape Sanji, laughing, and pressing his straw hat firmly to his head so it wouldn't blow away or fall.

Usopp stepped beside Nami then, and tapped her shoulder, "Oi, Franky sprung a leak. You better fix him."

"Eh? What?" She looked over only to realize that their shipwright was bawling, and scrubbing tears from his eyes to no avail. "Why me?"

"It's your picture's fault," he said, waggling his eyebrows with a snicker.

Frowning, she put her hands on her hips, and stalked toward the older man, "Franky, what's wrong? What're you crying about?"

"Shut up! I ain't crying!" He sniffed up snot, wiped away more tears, and said, "It's all just so beautiful; you and the captain on the sea and in love! It's like someone's dream come true, and that I even get to see it …! You guys are so great!"

"You don't have to cry about it," Zolo said, picking at his ear from being in close range of Franky's sobs.

"Shove it! I'm not crying, damn you! I love you guys!"

With the cook done chasing him down, Luffy stopped running next to Franky, and laughed, "Are you sick? Oi, Chopper! Come here, and make him stop leaking. He'll flood Sunny."

"I can't cure stupidity!" He said, and then pointed at Luffy, "I should redress your wounds though. Your bandages are dirty."

"Oh! That's right! That's right! Sanji! Make me a whale!"

!#$&()+

**THE END**

!#$&()+

_Ack, finally people are saying that Luffy became OOC … and near the end too! Ah, well. Maybe it's true that no one can really tell how someone will act when they're in luff. (Because Luffy equals luff, you know.) Not that I want to make excuses because I hate doing that, but I can't see any way to tweak him to make him normal again yet, but I'll go back eventually to give that chapter a little edit. At least, no one's said he's not himself at all. I'd die. All I can do from now on is keep him as straightforward, brash, and reckless as possible! Yes, that's what I'll do!_

**sempai-sama: **_XP I suppose so. As someone else has said, he seems to be addicted to it. I don't blame him either! You know, I had been actually aiming for a slightly non-fluffy moment. Maybe more like a Luffy-moment? I was trying to keep him as frank – no, not Franky – as possible when I was writing then. Thanks for reviewing!_

**overlord: **_XP Hee. You should go to the MSN Group called One Piece Manga v.2, and read all the scanlated chapters there! The people that submit them do great jobs! Miss Merry Christmas was changed to Miss Groundhog's Day in the 4kids dub if that helps … XO Though I'd hate for anyone to recognize her by that name. Ugh … damned 4kids. Thank you for reviewing though!_

**Cybertoy00: **_Already know about those Groups – awesome, aren't they? I'm dirtmonkeyAL there if you ever spot me. Thanks for another review! ;P I'll be sure to read Water 7 over again before I write more Franky stuff. Just to make sure._

**BlackNhite: **_Oi, you have to visit the MSN Group, One Piece Manga v.2 to read the manga scanlations. They do awesome jobs, and no one's making 'em get rid of their scans. They're up to date on __**all**__ of the manga chapters that are out there. Really. Chapter 456 just came out, and you can read it there right now. Oh, and since it seems you're unawares, Funi's got the rights to One Piece now, but they're starting with the Jaya arc – I'll be nice and patient though since I'm only going to buy the __**uncut**__ DVDs. Thanks for reviewing! Fairies!_

**Nuit Fleur:**_If Luffy's being OOC, then I apologize, but maybe it's just that no one's seen him in a romantic relationship in the actual story. -shrugs- I just honestly thought that if he wanted to be with someone, he'd go for it, and keep her/him interested. So … whether I wrote him OOC or if I did fine and no one else has done it right, I guess it's up to Oda to reveal the truth of the matter … XP If he ever shows a romantic coupling with Luffy in One Piece. Thank you for the review!_

**wheathermangohanssj4: **_Oi, oi, if you're going to use Skypeia as an example, don't forget how he decided right away that he was also going to ring the bell for the monkey guys and Cricket. Thank you!_

_**P.S.**_

**Before anyone asks, yes, I have a sequel of sorts in mind.**

**Thank you, everyone, for all your wonderful reviews and well wishes! They really brightened my day and accelerated my typing speed to bring you guys this story. It was fun to write, and I hope it was fun to read as well!**

!#$&()+


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